DOOM!

Alright, remember I said the last part was short? No no, this one is short. XD I didn't want to start what's supposed to happen in the next chapter here -- so here this part is. HEHE~ and yes, I know this one focuses less on the creep and more on the <3, I know. I'm a fangirl, what can I say? ;D



part V: THE EMOTION

This was Jacen's lavish idea. They had taken their dinner, some of the food they had packed and sat on the landing of the stairs that led up from the grand hall. With their backs up against the wall, their eyes on the chateau's main entrance, Jacen and Tenel Ka had munched silently on their food, each one too busy in their own thoughts to speak.

And now here Jacen laid, sprawled out in a bed, staring at the ceiling. It had been his idea to sleep in some of the unused bedrooms. After dinner, they had explored some of the second floor. Meandering down a hallway in the east wing, they had stumbled across some bedrooms, each one decorated in a different color scheme. Each color was faded and dull from age, but the rooms were still as ornate and rich as they could be.

"I take it you want this one," Tenel Ka stated simply, peeking into the second room on the left. It had a large four-poster bed along the north wall, the covers a dark viridian shade. Jacen had stared into it, nodding quickly. The sun was growing dim, leaving the room with an oppressing light.

He had gone to explore it, Tenel Ka in tow, and had discovered a refresher door along the east wall. A few minutes after that, Tenel Ka had a room as well. It had been the room on the other side of the refresher. The color scheme in hers seemed to be a deep tint of violet. Jacen had said the color seemed to fit her, he assumed it was why she picked the room.

Tenel Ka had eyed the room warily. The main reason why she had chosen that one was because it was connected to Jacen's room, by the shared refresher. The Queen Mother wasn't one who was frightened easily, but this was a place they had never been to before -- it was safest when they were in close proximity to companions.

So overall, the bedrooms were his idea. And now he laid in his bed, the cushy green comforter he had flung the dust out of earlier pulled up to his chin, wondering if this had been such a grand idea after all.

Moonlight from Fondor's eroded moons trickled in through the windows on either side of the bed, casting odd shadows here and there. Even with the blankets pulled over him, Jacen could still feel his body, racked by a random shiver whenever it seemed right. It was drafty, but Jacen blamed that on the insane amount of empty space in the building, what with the towering ceilings and all. His eyes wandered aimlessly around the quarters, while his mind seemed to escape to something entirely different.

Tenel Ka.

It had been years since the end of the war with the Yuuzhan Vong, at least eight. She had been the ruler of the Hapes Consortium a little bit longer than that and Jacen would go see her every chance he got during that time. Between missions, on vacations, sometimes he would just stop by to say hey. His Uncle Luke had sometimes had messages for her concerning Jedi matters and such -- and Jacen would be the first one he would ask to deliver them because Luke knew he would go.

Jacen had been training and learning to become a Jedi Master and he had almost succeeded. The new Council thought very highly of him and his Uncle had been proud of his accomplishments with the different ways he used the Force.

When he would visit Tenel Ka, they would sit and speak about what he had been doing, how his training had been going or how Hapes had been faring and so on. They would usually end up talking well into the nights, Jacen falling asleep on the sofa in the Queen Mother's bedroom. Both of them had often wondered why he never just fell asleep beside her in her bed -- but then both of them realized it might be awkward and they would push the thought out of their heads, scolding themselves for being so childish. Little did they know that they were both always wondering the same thing.

When he visited, they spoke of anything and everything... except them.

Jacen thought that actions spoke louder than words, but only when it came to things like love. You shouldn't have to speak of your feelings to someone, you should just be able to show them. He often wondered why exactly, he never showed his to Tenel Ka.

Maybe he was afraid of her reaction. Maybe he thought he would lose her friendship. Maybe he thought if she felt the same way, something would've happened by now.

Or maybe she's just paranoid, like me.

His eyes finally landed on the open door of the refresher for a moment. He knew that she had left her refresher door open as well, so they could hear each other in case something happened. At that moment, part of his mind told him to stand up and march right in there so he could talk to her, see her -- at least be in the same room as her. The other part of his mind could only counterattack with one thing.

But it's cold.

Scowling, Jacen was about to move to sit up when he heard a creaking sound. He turned his head to the right where the sound had originated and frowned, furrowing his eyebrows. There was nothing there. Just a wardrobe and a desk, the moonlight casting an ethereal glow over them.

Still with a slight grimace present on his face, Jacen grabbed the edge of the comforter and slid off the bed with it, wrapping it around his shoulders. Before he had gotten into bed earlier, he had taken off the top part of his jumpsuit, unsnapping it from the bottom piece. But now all he wore on his top half was a thick blanket, wrapped around his shoulders like a cape. Padding through the refresher, his feet smacked on the tile floor and his cape fanned out behind him, dragging along.

"Tenel Ka," he hissed quietly, gently poking at her shoulder.

He watched as she turned towards him, throwing the cover off of her shoulders. A white short-sleeved shirt clung to her form, basic wear under a jumpsuit for females. She tugged at the hem of the shirt, fixing it from where it twisted around her as she turned over -- her eyes opened lazily, blinking back sleep.

It took her a few seconds before she could say anything, she was too busy trying not to snicker. There was Jacen Solo, son of Princess Leia Organa Solo and the famous Han Solo. Brother to pilot and Jedi Knight Jaina Solo and the late but well-remembered Anakin Solo. Jacen was a hero as well, in his own right, known throughout the galaxy...

And here he was, barefoot -- the toes of his right foot absently kicking the bottom of her bed, disheveled hair, fingers fidgeting with the legs of his pants, conforter engulfing him and spreading out behind him. It looked like it had tackled him and got caught around his neck.

Jacen Solo looked like a little kid.

Tenel Ka could only respond with what seemed fitting. "Oh. Did baby Jacen have a bad dream?"

Stifling a giggle, he smiled. Her jokes were few and far between, but she always knew the perfect times to bring them out - another reason he felt the way he did for her.

"No, your highnessness." Even his voice reverted back to a childlike state. "I heard something in my room." The last part was lowered to a whisper.

Tenel Ka smiled for the first time in weeks -- Jacen seemed to be the only one who could achieve that grin. "And what do you propose I do about it?"

Swallowing his nerves, Jacen sprawled beside her, throwing his comforter cape up over the whole bed -- the green enveloping the violet of her sheets. "Keep me safe?"

"It baby Jacen insists." Tenel Ka was instantly flooded with the warmth from the extra blanket and the body heat beside her. She could see the grin on Jacen's face and she returned it with a glimmer of her own. Both of them knew that this felt right. And not one word was spoken of it. It just happened.

Closing her eyes, Tenel Ka attempted to fall back asleep as Jacen pulled her into his arms. For a few minutes he watched her. The way her copper hair floated over the deep purple of the pillows, the way his hunter green comforter had landed across her tan neck, running parallel with her jawline, it put him at ease. He watched her chest rise and fall, methodically, it seemed to hypnotize him.

For once, in addition to his own heartbeat, he could hear hers as well. And for the first time since he stepped foot in that building, he felt calm.


That's all for now. XD