Chapter Text
Despite a decade of growing up under the ever-watchful eye of diplomatic banquets and stuffy political outings, Jaina Solo felt the most out of place in the celebration hall she had ever been.
Her military uniform, requested by Omas, felt tight against her throat. The pins and badges felt heavy, much like her heart that they rested against. She lingered on the outside of the party, nodding polite greetings to the non-Jedi members as they milled around.
She tucked the robe she had been swathed in during the knighting ceremony around her body a little tighter, like a hug. Like the lingering darkness, she wanted to fade away into.
In the darkness, it was easier not to think about Anakin and how he’d be at her side in this stuffy hall and rushing to get food before everyone else, how he’d make her laugh with a good-natured joke on the serving droids, getting seconds for them to share. But Jaina knew she’d see him soon enough if the war kept on at this rate. She could feel death coming for her, like the danger sense on the back of her neck in a fight.
Her eyes scanned the room, as if she were expecting a fight rather than the actual scene itself. Nursing her glass of Whyren’s reserve, Jaina smiled to herself as she observed. Jacen had been pulled aside by newly, somberly, crowned Queen Mother Tenel Ka, and she could see his blush from here. Tahiri sat on the couch, conversing with small, furry Tekli. Lowie spoke in low tones with Tesar, the barabel hissing in amusement. Stuffy dignitaries floated between the Jedi, asking questions or murmuring to themselves.
“So are they going to make you a name plate with Sword of the Jedi on it to go under that one?”
Jaina whirled around to face Zekk, who was pointing at her military insignia with a wry smile on his chiseled face. She rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, they’re a little late on adding Goddess, too. Gotta hurry up on that.” She replied, keeping it playful, but surprised he had approached her. Their last real conversation on Hapes had not gone well, but perhaps time on Kashyyyk had changed things.
The older Jedi looked…lighter, Jaina observed. She hadn’t spoken to him much before the ceremony when Luke gathered them, but she noticed his eyes didn’t seem as hollow anymore. His dark hair was pulled back in its typical ponytail, a little shorter, indicating he likely trimmed it recently. He held a lomin ale in his hand, and his calloused fingertips left marks in the condensation on the cool glass.
“Feeling a little underdressed here next to you, Major,” Zekk kept the light conversation going, oblivious to Jaina’s innermost thoughts.
“I’d rather be in my robes.” Jaina tugged at her collar again, setting her small glass down on a serving droid’s collection platter as it passed by them. People fluttered around them in various conversations, like nebulae with their own paths.
Mara glanced at her niece and stepped in to side-hug her. “My apprentice, though our time was short, you learned well. You are an exemplary Jedi, and I’m proud of you.” Jaina can feel Mara’s pride swell in the force, and it brings a sting to the corner of her eye. She won’t let it fall, won’t stop the stoic face.
“You were the best teacher, Aunt Mara, thank you,” Jaina replied, bowing her head towards her former master with grace. Mara squeezed her shoulder before floating off to find Jacen, to congratulate him as well.
A barrage of people came Jaina’s way as if Mara had opened the floodgates. Mostly, government allies or companions wished her well. Few remarked on her growth, “We haven’t seen you since you were a child!” “All grown up, a Jedi knight!”
It was getting exhausting. Jaina gave her best diplomatic smile, her Organa-trained polite society behavior, but it made her weary.
Then the Jedi started their attack next.
Kyp dive bombs her with an attack of “What in the nine Corellian hells was Luke talking about?” While Cilghal asks if she’s had any visions to accompany his words, like a true researcher. Saba pats her back, hissing with laughter over her unease about it. By the time Kyle makes his way over, Zekk has seen enough.
He can see the way Jaina’s deflecting. The way her shoulders were fraught with tension. The twitch of her furrowed brows and fake smile. He darted his hand out and tugged her away from the area she had claimed all night.
“Let’s grab some air,” Zekk murmured, dodging Tesar and Lowie on the way out toward the balconies. Water glittered below them. Dark as the sky above with stars.
“What do you want from me?” Jaina asked, harsher than she meant to. She leaned over the balcony railing, unclasping the collar of her stuffy military dress as she filled her lungs with the crisp night air.
“Why do you assume there’s a want from you?” Zekk retorted. He shook his head, looking to the moon above. “Can I not visit with my old friend?”
Jaina cringed at the phrase. She didn’t know what they were anymore, not after Hapes. He still considered her a friend…even after?
“Yes, you’re still my friend, idiot.” He breathed out. His green eyes look up, wishing he could at least touch her. He wants to hold her, but he doesn’t know where they stand, even if he knows he still cares for her.
She slugs him in the shoulder, surprised she had projected enough in the Force for him to pick up on her thoughts. She was better than that, usually. Zekk approaching her had really thrown her off her game. “Stop eavesdropping, or I’ll have you stripped back to youngling status.”
“I deserve that.” Zekk hung his head. The playful punch hadn’t hurt. He liked feeling the weight of her fist on his body; it reminded him of their not-so-distant past. The times she’d playfully hit him while they copiloted the Rock Dragon or the Lightning Rod. The days when she was intoxicating to be around. He remembers fondly when the sight of Jaina, cheeks covered in grease stains, would have sent his heart rate skyrocketing. If he had to be honest, his heart rate still beats twice as fast in her orbit.
There’s a brief, fleeting moment where Jaina feels his warmth draw over her like a blanket, but just as quickly as she felt it, it was gone again.
“So Hapes—”
“That’s in the past, Jay.” Zekk bats her apology away. Life was short. Too short. He wouldn’t spend it being bitter with her. He could sit down and explain to her at nauseum about how her actions scared him, that he didn’t know if he would be successful the way she had been with him in helping him see the light, and most of all, if he failed to help return her to the light, then he’d have to kill her. His one task he never completed for Brakiss. He was supposed to kill her almost ten years ago now.
But he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to feel like a coward.
Jaina is quiet, looking down into the water. She scuffs her boot against the balcony railing. “Like us?”
Her question stops him from running away like a restraining bolt.
Zekk turned to face her, his jaw set. “Jaina,”
She looked up from the water, exhaling. “You know everyone in the battle meld knew, right?” Jaina watched his cheeks flush. Dammit, he was cute when he was embarrassed. “I could feel it, clear as day. I can feel it now.”
“And?” He’s petulant, petty, and hates himself for the way he responded. His shoulders tensed, years of memories flooding into his nervous system.
“I’d be lying if I said that I wouldn’t like it if you shut my brain off for a while.”Jaina sighed, staring back out at the shimmering seas ahead of her. She was exhausted. She didn’t want to think about prophecies and flight patterns, and the training she was meant to do tomorrow. But she also didn’t want to rest. Rest wasn’t an option. The Vong were ready. They were coming for her.
Zekk whistled low under his breath. “I think I could manage that.” He replied quietly, his hand reaching out to Jaina’s. Within moments of grabbing her hand, he pulled her into his body. They stood breaths apart, shivering in the cold sea breeze. Jaina squared her jaw, looking up at him with a finite sense of longing in her deep brown eyes.
Suddenly, it was just the two of them on Yavin 4. There was no war, her family was still intact, and they had to be sneaky so no one else saw. Jaina would do anything to live in that moment. She missed the way her skin would prickle with excitement when he led her through the jungle to the river. She missed the way her belly swooped when he tucked her hair behind her ears and rubbed a grease stain off her cheek. It was all so easy back then.
Jaina pressed her lips to his in a comforting return to the past. But this time she pressed harder than any of their chaste kisses at the praxeum, and Zekk answered by opening his mouth ever so slightly to run his tongue across her chapped lower lip. He let out a shaky sigh against her, cupping her cheek in his hand. The pad of his thumb stroked her cheekbone absently between heady kisses. Jaina swirled her tongue across his, licking up into his mouth as he made a soft noise deep in the back of his throat. Zekk’s thumb slid from her cheek to her lower lip, tracing the wet skin.
Jaina’s breath hitched, her hands sliding up his chiseled face to knot in his long hair. She tugged, crushing her body against his in a desperate need for touch. The heat of his chest drew shivers down her spine. She nipped at his lower lip, hazily sensing the ghost of pleasure bumping up against her in the nebulous mind meld they had left months ago.
Zekk drew back slightly, his chest heaving. No! Don’t stop, laserbrain! Jaina groaned inwardly as he pulled away from her. Zekk swallowed hard, sensing her flash of frustration. “There’s still a party back there,” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder, green eyes hazy with want. His cheeks flushed sheepishly, noticing Jaina’s swollen lips and mussed hair.
Jaina’s hands slowly left his hair, letting the black tangles fall across his broad shoulders. She kept her arms around his middle, pulling him back in for a small kiss. She felt needy and a bit possessive.
“C’mere,” Zekk mumbled, his hand taking her arm and leading her toward the side door of the hall. Jaina blew out an impatient sigh at the disruption to her distraction but followed dutifully. Zekk kept a hand on her, rubbing the material covering her arm softly as he reached ahead of them in the Force to make sure they were alone.
Only once he was sure, he tugged her into a deserted storage room. He flipped on the lights with one hand as the door hissed shut behind them. Jaina huffed, using the Force to reach the switch across the wall to put them back into the dark. “Are you an idiot? They can see the lights out there!” Small glowrods lined the floor of the storage room, serving as emergency guides and giving the pair just enough light to make each other out in the relative darkness.
Zekk laughed, the back of his head bumping against a wall shelf. “Right. Sorry, Sword of the Jedi, didn’t know you had standards for a storage room hook up.” He instantly flushed red as the comment left his mouth. He hadn’t meant to be assumptive; he hadn’t meant for it to come out like that. Maybe he was misreading things. Sure, they’d just made out, but maybe that’s all she wanted? There was that stuffy pilot she was always hanging around with anyway. He hadn’t meant for that to roll off his tongue.
Jaina smacked his shoulder, her hand fisting in his robes to pull him down to her height. “Shut up and kiss me again before I change my mind, idiot,” she grumbled before crashing their lips together so hard their teeth clacked together for a moment.
Zekk groaned, his hands roaming under her cloak. He brushed past her breast briefly, hand moving to the small of her back as his lips traced her jaw. Jaina whined, her hand tightening her grip on Zekk’s robes. She could feel him growing hard against her core, and it made the hair on her skin stand on end.
Hot breath ghosted across her ear. “Kriff,” He muttered as her hand slid under his tunic top, nails ghosting across the long planes of his chest. Jaina paid attention to a flat nipple, her thumb rubbing over it, then her nail. He stuttered a groan. It was kind of pathetic in a way, Jaina noted, how she had him wrapped around her finger. She wondered why she hadn’t done this before, and hadn't noticed how desperate he was for her.
Zekk closed his eyes as the simmering heat of the enclosed space got to his head. He peppered open-mouthed wet kisses against Jaina’s exposed neck. All he could taste was the salt of her skin, his nose filled with the cloying smell of her that was both engine oil and florals. His hand slid under the uniform dress shirt, and his palm caressed the blazing, warm skin of her abdomen. “Do y’know how hot you are? Stang, Jaina.” Zekk whispered, his heart leaping into his throat at the admission. She shuddered at his words, closing her eyes and shaking her head.
She didn’t want to hear that right now. She didn’t want to be praised, to be told how good she was—she didn’t believe any of it. Here she was in a storage room, hooking up with her crush from the academy, only because she couldn’t die knowing she’d taken love away from him. If he couldn’t have her for as long as life allowed, then she’d at least given him this. She wasn’t made for love. The prophecy even said it. So she’ll let Zekk take her virginity tonight, let him into every inch of her, and then let him know at least he’s had this before she’s gone.
One hand snaked up to rest between her underlayer and her breast, thumb rolling over a sensitive nipple. Zekk was rewarded with a strangled noise, her lips parting to sigh out a moan. He kissed her neck tenderly, softly. “This okay?” He was nervous that this was too much, too fast, and he didn’t want to overwhelm her.
Jaina hazily touched him in the Force, giving him a sense of ‘yes’ and encouragement. Her mouth had fallen open, panting at the slight brush of his tongue against delicate skin on her neck.
His other hand danced across her waistband, the tips of his fingers tracing patterns on the warm skin. Zekk dipped his fingers below the fabric, curling around her hip, and his thumb pressed against her sharp bone.
“Need more,” Jaina rasped against his cheek, her hands dangerously close to his waistline. He was hard enough for her to curiously palm through his pants—his head bumped back against the shelf at the touch. She pressed her hand heavily along his length, fingers wrapping around it through the fabric.
Zekk whimpered out at the movement, feeling suddenly lightheaded. His cheeks flushed. He was overwhelmed with the sensation of Jaina, finally, touching him the way he longed. He felt a bit embarrassed at how reactive he was to her, as if there was an upper hand to be had between them.
Jaina fumbled with the clasp on his pants, her hands shaky as she almost second-guessed herself. There wouldn’t be a coming back from this. She blew a breath out through her nose in frustration before shoving his trousers down with his undershorts. Zekk shivered.
Jaina’s mind repeated one message over and over again. She needed release, and she needed it now. Her head was spinning with a thousand different thoughts of the war, the past, her kills, her losses—it was all too much. Zekk steadied her, hands on her shoulder as she stood back up. It was too dark to see each other properly, but he still stared down into her eyes. But Jaina spoke before he could launch into questioning her.
“Don’t have time for this,” She argued, unclasping her dress slacks and stepping out of them unceremoniously. Zekk’s arousal reverberated through the Force as his hands moved down towards her bare hips. He couldn’t believe he was doing this. His mind felt fuzzy; the only thing he could focus on was the blood rushing through his lower body.
“You’re beautiful,” He breathed out, gently running his hands across her taut, warm skin. Jaina flushed, but pushed him back against the wall. “Always been—”
“Zekk. Shut up.” She knew he wouldn’t argue with her, not now, not in a vulnerable state like this. Her hand grabbed his hand roughly, moving it to her ass. He got the hint, supporting her with that hand, his other dropping between her thighs. Jaina huffed impatiently at his slow, gentle touch.
“You’re needy,” Zekk murmured with a smirk as he felt her frustration bubble. She was wet, definitely wet enough where his fingertips were coated, but still, he traced through her folds and around her entrance to hear her breath stutter between insults at him. “Just hold on,”
“Kriffing—son of a—motherfucker—” Jaina keened as he found her clit, circling the nub with just enough pressure to make her head grow dizzy. She held on to his shoulders, nails digging into the soft fabric of his tunic. He kissed her forehead, slipping one finger inside her with ease. She gasped and tried to hide her moans with her mouth against his neck as he started thrusting in a gentle rhythm.
Zekk groaned at the warmth around his finger, then pulled out to Jaina’s dismay. “What—oh.” Her complaint trailed off into a quiet moan as she watched him wrap a hand around his erection. His thumb swiped the swollen tip, precum glistening in the faint light of the floor panels. Jaina took a moment to let the image flood her overworked brain. Zekk was tall and wiry. His hips were narrow with small divots where hard muscle had yet to form over his sinewy frame. She bit her lip.
The hand on her ass shifted, lifting her leg to give him access. “I—can I?” Zekk asked, feeling stupid as soon as it left his mouth. He had already fingered her for Force’s sake, but still he asked. He didn’t think it was real. He keeps expecting to wake up from a dream five years in the past. If he closed his eyes again, maybe he’d open them up to stone temple walls and a wet spot on his undershorts.
Jaina took matters into her own hands. She closed her hand over his hands on his cock and guided him to her. She coated the tip in her wetness and tilted her hips to take him. Zekk groaned, his head back against the wall as he felt her warm heat envelop him. There was a surge in the Force, rippling with pleasure between the two of them and the hint of something deeper. Jaina felt every nerve firing in her body as he stretched her in ways she never thought possible. It felt pleasurable but also had twinges of sensitivity, a good sort of ache. He shifted, pulling her closer to him as she whimpered at his hips moving.
“Is this, is it okay?” Zekk asked, head leaning down against her neck. They were both sweaty and shaking in the darkness. Jaina nodded, struggling to find her voice at the overwhelming sensations washing over her physically and mentally. Her unsteady hands fisted in his tunic as she gritted her teeth. Zekk’s hand brushed a lock of hair behind her ear tenderly, his head dipping down to mouth kisses across her cheek and occasionally on her lips. His hips were slow, and he could sense her adjusting to each slide. He was being careful and restrained.
The movement made Jaina sigh in frustration—she didn’t want him to be soft and tender. None of this, fucking in a storage closet, was supposed to be kind and warm. It was supposed to be fast and a little dirty. She didn’t want to be loved, not by him, not by anyone. This was about him—was supposed to be about getting him off and letting him have her before she left this galaxy. Why couldn’t he be a stupid man controlled by urges and needs instead of a tender-hearted, compassionate lover who cared?
“More.” Jaina choked out, closing her eyes at the push and pull of his soft rhythm. She could sense his concern bubbling, a question rippling in the Force between them. “Faster, need—you!”
Zekk obliged, sinking inside of her with each snap of his hips. His head was spinning with the sensation of her. He gasped a wet moan into the collar of her dress shirt as she used her knee against the wall to draw herself closer, burying his length deeper. He panted as a hard, hot ache built in his lower abdomen. His damp hand snaked down to her folds, haphazardly finding her clit. Jaina whined at the touch, her heart leaping into her throat as she felt overwhelmed. It was too much— her head letting in fragments of what this storage room quickie was meant to hide. “There—there, fuck,”
Her ears buzzed with his soft groans as they interlaced with the hot, wet sound of his thrusts. Zekk pressed down to add pressure on her clit, his mouth against her ear. He was shaking, his presence in the Force one of restraint, trying not to reach his release before her. Jaina noticed and smiled to herself—ever the gentleman. He swore, hand on her hips to drive himself deeper as he felt her tighten. “Fuckfuckfuck.” Zekk's hips shuddered as he thrust. He whimpered, slowing down as her walls tightened. Her body clung against his for dear life, legs locking and threatening to collapse as her orgasm ripped through her.
Jaina felt like a coiled spring; her release bubbled up underneath her cool exterior like a geyser. She spilled into the Force all at once. Pleasure, pain, fear, sorrow, and self-loathing that made Zekk’s eyes grow wide.
Then the rippling shockwaves hit her. Her eyes closed, mouth caught in an exhale of curses and stuttering moans. “Kriff, I’m gonna come,” Zekk panted, knowing he’d have to pull out despite her bearing down. They hadn’t talked about any of that, much to the burning heat on his cheeks, but there was no way he was taking that chance. His lips met hers sloppily, saliva trailing between the two of them as they swallowed each other's cries.
Zekk’s hand rubbed her back as she slumped forward into him. He murmured against her, holding himself back.
“I’m pulling out, just—hold on,” Jaina didn’t hear him, and whined at the loss. She was sensitive and clenching around nothing, still coming down from her orgasmic high. He pumped himself a few times, letting go of the Force and allowing himself to come all over her abdomen. The wave of his orgasm flooded Jaina’s acute senses through the Force, burning bright and hot against her.
They sank to the floor, sweaty and spent and in a pool of their clothing. Then the floodgates opened. Zekk felt her warm tears against his tunic and frowned. Jaina sniffled. Everything was too much. The way the orgasm sent her mind spinning had led her to a high she had only ever felt before while flying, before she became a killing machine. Before, she was an emotionless pit of sorrow and someone who locked away the bad feelings lest they interfere with a kill for the day. She would never feel that freedom when flying again.
“You…you don’t regret this, do you?” Zekk asked, a twinge of insecurity rising in him at the sight of the woman—his oldest friend—sobbing on his chest post orgasm. Jaina rubbed her eyes, pulling back from him with an embarrassed hiccup. “Because it was good, really good.”
“I don’t know.” She said, fumbling around for her dress slacks and boots. Zekk grabbed her hand, stopping her flustered movements. He wasn’t going to let her run away this time. There had been too much of that between the two of them.
“You’re sobbing, Jaina.” He was sweet and kind and gentle, and Jaina pulled herself from his grip. She rubbed at her ruddy, wet cheeks with a fist. “Did I hurt you? I—we’ve never…” Zekk wondered for a moment if he was her first. They’d not gone farther than a few touches over the clothes at the academy, so he wouldn’t be shocked. He had slept with a fellow evac pilot around the start of the war. It hadn’t been good; he always had a nagging feeling, missing Jaina. They hadn’t had closure at the academy after all.
“I gave you what you wanted. Don’t worry about me.” Jaina said with a bit more bite than necessary. She pulled her clothes back on, feeling sweaty and pathetic. Her hand wiped the sticky residue of him off her stomach with her sleeve. Zekk hastily stepped into his trousers and made a noise of disbelief at her.
“Of course I’m going to worry about you! I—” He stopped himself before he was too honest with her. He couldn’t do that, not when he knew she didn’t feel the same. He knew that. He agreed to this, knowing he was being used, knowing that when they woke up the next morning, it wouldn’t be with each other. He was okay with that. He had to be. He loved her.
“No. Don’t do that. Don’t do the noble routine with me.” Jaina argued, tears still flowing. “Everyone leaves Zekk. You left on Hapes. Anakin’s gone. People keep dying, and that’s war. And one day, I’ll be part of the chorus of deaths in the back of your mind. This is just something for you to remember me by.”
“You had sex with me because you wanted to give me something you never could before you died?” He questioned, and Jaina could see the dark green of his eyes even in the low light of the panels below them. She looked away, sniffling. He was angry now, and rightfully so. He had been used. His love had been used.
“You heard the prophecy. You shouldn’t love me anyway. I gave you what you needed. You’ve had every inch of me, Zekk.” Jaina ran a hand through her hair, trying to smooth it down. Zekk scoffed, trying not to seethe at her. They’re both on edge, neither caring to temper down their emotions in the Force.
“I didn’t want it like this! I thought…” He gritted his teeth and swallowed his pride.
“What. What did you think, Zekk?!” Jaina scoffed while she fumbled with her utility belt, feeling her lightsaber hang against her hip. He stepped into her space, hands on her shoulders, and she felt herself fall back in time. There was no war. No one had died. Just a fearless survivor going on a quest to find himself, a quest of redemption and salvation, and a head over heels adventurer with a lopsided grin and a need for rescuing now and then. A tear fell down her cheek. They’d never be those teens again.
Jaina stubbornly shook her head, trying not to look up into his eyes. His hands squeezed, thumbs indenting into her skin.
“I knew you were using me, but not like this. Jaina. You’re not—you won’t die. You can’t die. You don’t have to accept that. I did that once, and look how it turned out for me.” Zekk explained with a sigh. It broke his heart to realize how far gone Jaina was in pathologizing her despair. “Do you know how many times I told myself to do what felt good, what made me feel better, because I had already accepted I would die at the Shadow Academy? I’d die with honor, I’d be a contender—I can’t let you do that, Jaina. You wouldn’t let me.” Her tears started flowing, and Jaina didn’t know if they’d ever stop. Blast him for getting under her skin.
“Jaina?” A gentle rap on the storage room door startled both of them. Jaina rubbed at her face, knowing it was no use. She pushed past Zekk and through the door, revealing Jacen on the other side.
“Sorry, I—Jaina, are you okay?” Jaina glanced into the mirror image of her own eyes with a frown. Jacen was another emotional anvil dropped on her. He had returned from capture, from assumed death, but now she was reminded of the possibility that he could be ripped from her life again in an instant.
“I’m fine.” She grumbled, rubbing at her wet eyes and making a beeline for the turbolift to their quarters. The two men stood in the storage room doorway, both glancing at Jaina with concern before looking at each other. Jacen stood up straight, glaring at Zekk as he made the logical conclusion.
“You hurt her.” He spit. “I felt it. In our bond, it was loud. It made me drop my ale.” Jacen’s face remained eerily calm despite the venom in his voice. He could tolerate a lot of things in life, but someone—a friend— hurting Jaina was not one.
Zekk closed his eyes, preparing for the verbal beating from his close friend. He ran a hand through his tangled snarl of hair, frowning.
“Jacen. It’s not—I didn’t mean to. You know I would never, could never,” He laughed to himself as he watched Jacen’s eyes flicker with anger and then release. “You two are so alike.”
“Cut the Bantha dung, Zekk. My sister is sobbing, and your fly is down. I think I know what happened here.” Jacen jabbed a finger in his face, making the taller man stumble back into the storage room. Zekk held his hands out, shaking his head.
“Hey. Your sister is the one who used me! I don’t know what has gotten into her head, but I need you to know it takes two to dance,” He argued, fixing his fly and crossing his arms. “I didn’t violate her, I swear on my life.”
Jacen backed down, shaking his head. Jaina’s pain still ached in his chest, a dim sort of burn. He crossed his arms, still hesitant to let Zekk off the hook. But he could sense Zekk’s truth ebbing through the Force— the other part of why he came to find Jaina. She had been distant, cold even since his return, and feeling a flood of emotions from their bond startled Jacen.
“I trust you.” He offered to Zekk gruffly. “Look, I just got her back,”
Zekk waved him off, leaning against a shelf rack. He had no reason to argue with a man who had just escaped captivity. “Jacen...She’s not fine. I think you know that, though.”
Jacen frowned, nodding at Zekk’s observation. “She’s not.” He stated. “But I have a feeling it’s been for a while.”
Zekk pulled his hair back into a ponytail, trying hard not to let his concern bleed into Jacen’s mind. It was tempting, though he was pretty sure the meld was trying to drag it through to him.
“Look, she won’t let me be what she needs—what I want to be for her.” Zekk started to explain. He checked his tunic and brushed his hands on his pants. “And that’s fine, but I’m worried about her. Just don’t let her slip.”
Zekk slid out of the storage room, leaving an utterly baffled Jacen in his wake.