"Against All Odds" (K/J) * Completed 12/19/02* --- **18 New Posts on pgs 18 & 19**

Okay, okay, I know, I've got how many 'fics going right now? But I've been working on this one for ages (not quite as long as Aftershock, which I promise, I'll start posting soon), and I've decided that for this one, and for "Not Of This Fold", I can post as I write.

My disk just got corrupted, so I need to run to my other computer and get the story again. My next post will be the beginning.

Dana

 

"Against All Odds" by DantanaSkywalker

Two Weeks After The Evacuation of Borleias

Kyp Durron tried to keep all thoughts out of his head as he walked down the corridor set aside on the Rebel Dream for Twin Suns Squadron. He kept the thoughts at bay because recently, they'd become too painful, as much as he tried to deny their nature.

He rounded the corner near his quarters and nearly ran into Jaina Solo and Jagged Fel, who were holding hands and giggling like small children. They didn't seem to mind his interruption, but Kyp did.

"Hello, Kyp," Jaina said. She was mussed and bright-eyed.

Kyp's stomach was in his feet. He felt alternately like he was going to throw up, or that his lungs would implode. Breathing was difficult. "Great One. Colonel," he managed."

Jaina frowned. "Are you okay? You don't look well."

"I'm fine," he said tersely, and brushed past them, abandoning his quarters as his destination. He hadn't gone ten feet before he heard Jaina say to Jag, "Excuse me."

Kyp got to a larger, empty section of hallway, where several other corridors met, before Jaina caught up with him.

"I thought we'd agreed you were going to stop doing that," she said.

Kyp stopped and turned. He glanced to make sure Jag was out of hearing range before speaking. "We agreed I'd stop breaking off the Force link and various related activities. We didn't agree that I had to be a captive audience to your mating rituals."

Jaina reeled from the anger and pain that poured over her, coming from him. She fought it and found herself angry. "No one said you were. What I thought we'd agreed was that you were going to stop preparing to leave."

"Does that entail having to watch the two of you together?" he asked softly.

She jerked in surprise, his answer not what she had expected.

The tension between them was almost palpable. It would have taken a lightsaber to cut it.

"You said you didn't want to get in the way. I thought that meant you didn't mind." Jaina folded her arms. "Look, Kyp, I know you seem to have a personal interest in me-"

He laughed shortly, a bitter, pained, sarcastic sound that hurt Jaina's heart to hear. "A personal interest."

He looked at her for several long moments, his green eyes shadowed. Then Kyp spoke.

"Do you know why it makes me sick to see you together? Why I have trouble with keeping the Force bond open? This is something I tried to talk to you privately about on Borleias, but you had to have Captain Cardboard present."

Jaina snickered at the "Captain Cardboard", then stopped herself. She shook her head. "I don't know, Kyp. Why?"

He raised a hand as if to touch her. Then he dropped it. "Because I love you, Goddess. I love you, and you don't feel the same."

She blinked her large, brandy-brown eyes, mouth open with shock.

They stared at each other for several moments, then Kyp pivoted on his heel and started walking away.

"Where are you going?" she asked in a subdued voice.

"To get drunk," he said, and left, thinking, So much for not thinking.

Jaina stared after Kyp's retreating back, feeling comfused and awash with the memory of the sheer agony in his green eyes.

Jag came up beside her. "What was that about?"

She shook her head, unable to answer. And she was grateful Jag couldn't use the Force, because he might not have liked her emotional state at that moment.

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Well? Whatcha think?

Dana

 

WOW! Another K/J fanfic and such a promissing one!
That was touching...
Please don't let us wait too long...

 

I usually don't read Jaina/Jag/Kyp fics, but this has a really great start. I'll be looking for more.

 

I'm glad you guys are liking this. Don't worry, it gets worse. In about, oh, three minutes, when I post the next section. What can I say, I'm post-happy.

Dana

 

More . . .

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Kyp was into his third glass of Corellian whisky--or what the bartender had *said* was Corellian whisky--by the time Jag Fel sat down next to him.

He would have liked to say that he was drunk at this point, but the stuff was so badly made that he was more than a little tipsy, but not drunk. "What do you want?" he snapped beligerently.

"To talk," Jag said.

"If I wanted to talk, do you think I'd be attempting to kill my vocal cords?"

The younger man studied him for a moment. "It'll probably take longer with that stuff than the brew on Borleias."

Kyp set down his glass, feeling particularly sadistic. "Bartender, a glass of Corellian whisky for my associate here."

In moments, a glass had been set in front of Jag. The colonel took a sip, then sputtered. "That's Corellian whisky?"

"I'd rather drink paint thinner, but we aren't that lucky," Kyp said, echoing the exchange they'd had regarding bad alcohol on Borleias. His mouth quirked as he thought darkly, Maybe paint thinner would kill Captain Cardboard and alleviate the pain.

"I wanted to talk to you about Jaina," Jag said, pushing his glass aside.

"Why?" Kyp eyed him with one green eye open and squinting, the other closed. "What purpose would that serve? I think we established the she''s-dating-you-and-not-me thing on Borleias."

Jag frowned. "I care for Jaina. And I've noticed that you do, too. I want what's best for her."

"Yeah."

"You don't believe me?"

"Fel, I don't believe very many people in this galaxy. I've made the mistake of believing the wrong people. Thus, I've developed a suspicious nature. But you can take it personally if you want."

"You know, you're a lovely person when you drink."

"That's why I hardly ever do. Right now, though, I feel like endangering my brain. But in this instance, it's not just the . . . whisky." Kyp shifted on his stool. "Why are you bothering me? I'd think you'd have better things to do than torment me. I came here to be alone, if you hadn't noticed."

Jag was quiet, contemplating the liquid in his glass. "You had words with Jaina. It upset her. I'd like to know what you discussed."

Kyp smirked. "That's none of your vapin' business, Colonel." He tossed down a few credits and got the rest of the whisky bottle from the bartender.

As he stood, he said, "But let me tell you this. I made the mistake of believing something about Jaina. But she really is what I thought she was."

With that delightfully ambiguous statement, Kyp left the bar.

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Kyp drunk. The thought just amuses me to no end . . .

EDIT: Why aren't my italics working?!

Dana

 

Oh, look, there they are. Never mind.

Dana

 

Dantana, you'll get us spoiled!
But I love this! I can't decide on which of your fics I like better...
Oh, I like the idea of Kyp drunk because of Jaina, too.
But why does noone write a fic where Jaina is chasing after Kyp for a change?
PMS! (Post more soon! )

 

Don't worry, things get really twisted in "Not Of This Fold". Though not quite as demented, twisted, and dysfunctional as in "Aftershock". Oh, heck. I'm just going to have to post that and quit talking about it. It's reached 280kb now, in simple text format, so I think I've got enough to start posting it, what do you think?

Why do you have to like one more than the other?

I post a lot because I know what it's like to have to wait and wait for another post. I don't want to leave my readers hanging. I've done that before, left them hanging at a really crucial point (this was on a different board), for about three weeks. I felt really bad, and have vowed not to do that to them again.

Dana

 

Just had to post this section today. This will probably be the last post on this one for today. I've got to save some of this one for later, 'cause I only have 80k written so far.

Hung-over Kyp, and Mara Jade. Boy, this should be entertaining. It's a long one, beware.
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Something was pounding on his head.

Kyp woke to darkness, which was merciful, given the fact he felt like an Ewok had crawled in his mouth and died, and a sandcrawler had been parked on his brain.

Slowly, he realised someone was knocking on the door. That would explain the thumping that made him feel as though his skull was about to split apart.

"Come in," he craoked, not caring if anyone saw him with the worst hangover he'd had the occassion to experience.

The door slid open and a lithe form, silhouetted in the doorway, stepped in.

"Lights," a female voice said.

The lights came on in a blaze that made Kyp make a gurgling cry and slap his pillow over his head.

Mara Jade Skywalker reached down and took the pillow away. "Get up, Durron."

"Can't. Brain not connected to legs," he mumbled.

"And whose fault is that?"

"Maker of bad whisky," he replied promptly, opening an extremely bloodshot eye. The contrast of red and green made his irises even brighter. "It was really bad. Wonder why I drank the whole bottle." A shadow passed over his features. He closed his eye again.

Mara had to admit that he was worse than she'd ever seen him. Now that she thought about it, she'd never once in the twenty years she'd known him seen Kyp Durron drunk or hungover. He wasn't a heavy drinker, and the number of times she'd seen him with alcohol she could count with one hand.

He was completely different from the Kyp who'd greeted them on Borleias just two weeks before with a friendly attitude. Now his manner reminded her of a cornered gundark.

The Emperor's Hand had been training to be highly obervant. So Mara had been keeping an eye on Jaina, and had noticed that Jaina and Jag had become more open with their relationship at the same rate Kyp's nice demeanour had declined. It didn't take an Omwatti scientist to figure this one out.

Mara sighed and went to the room's food processing unit, which had the essentials: water and caf. She got him a mug of caf and nudged him with her foot. "Up. Drink this."

It took an inordinate amount of nudging to get the Jedi Master upright--more or less-- and consumming the bitter beverage. Then she leaned against the wall and said, "Tell me about you, Jag, and Jaina."

"Jaina and Jag are involved. I'm on the sidelines of a vicious shockball game, forced out by one too many hits to the head."

"Huh?"

Kyp gave her a gimlet eye. "Surely you're not that stupid. Oh, wait, you married Luke."

She ignored that.

"I had reasons for wanting Jaina as my apprentice, that go beyond, well, wanting to train her."

Mara sat down next to him. "You're in love with her."

"You're so observant, it scares me," he said sarcastically.

She thumped his shoulder, hard. "I was wondering, well, Luke and I were, anyway, why you've been acting like a cornered gundark recently. It's because Jaina and Jag are together, and oblivious to what you're feeling, isn't it?"

"Not oblivious, no. We had a rather one sided discussion on Borleias, where Jaina told me it was put up and shut up, or leave. I didn't even get to talk to her privately. Jag was there."

"That was foolish of her. You should never have the third party present if you want to have an honest discussion between two people," Mara said.

"She said it was because Jag was part of the situation." Kyp took another sip and grimaced. "And I was still trying to kid myself. But yesterday, I kind of told Jaina how I feel, at her insistence, and . . . then I got wasted. Jag followed me to the bar and tormented me."

"And you didn't maim him? You have changed."

"Gee, thanks. I'm so happy you approve."

Mara didn't know much about compassion, but she knew she loved Luke, and she didn't even wan

 

Ahh, someone who understands!
But what is "Aftershock" and where can I get one?
Btw, it's so nice of you to let Anakin Solo live.

 

"Surely you're not that stupid. Oh, wait, you married Luke."

 

That's got to be my favourite line in the entire story. Don't you think it's the perfect thing for Kyp to say?

Dana

 

Well, I'm not sure someone would dare say that to Mara Jade, but I sure am glad he did it!

 

Another Kyp/Jaina fic!
This is a great story, Dantana. Poor Kyp...

 

Great bunch of posts, Dantana!! Hehe, I especially liked the line about "Oh wait, you married Luke!" More soon?

Jae Angel

 

One installment, coming up!

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Jaina woke feeling groggy. She couldn't remember the dream she'd been having, but it had left her feeling sad and unsettled.

She reached up to rub sleep from her eyes and found her cheeks wet with tears. That was disturbing.

Then she remembered what Kyp had said to her the previous evening. The breath left her lungs in a rush.

Kyp loved her. Really loved her, as far as she could tell when she'd been searching him during their conversation. She hadn't realised how badly she was hurting him by being with Jag. Honestly, though she'd thought about it in passing, she'd never pictured Kyp in as much of a romantic light, other than noticing he felt something for her.

"How?" she breathed. "How can he love me?"

A knock at her door drew her out of her thoughts. She pulled on a robe and wiped the moisture from her face before answering it.

Jag was outside, already showered and dressed. He smiled that private smile. "Good morning, Great One. I took the liberty of securing your breakfast."

"Just a minute. I need to get dressed." She let him in, retrieved some Jedi robes from her footlocker, and went into the refresher.

When she emerged twenty minutes later, fully dressed and her hair brushed, Jag gave her a quick kiss. He was a little dismayed when she didn't respond as eagerly as she normally did.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm sorry. I didn't sleep well. Bad dreams, but I can't remember them."

"Visions from the Force?"

Jaina shook her head. "No, I've only had a couple of those. And they were . . ." Visions of Kyp, she thought. And only one of Jag, when he was in immediate danger. "I had those when I was awake."

Jag was quiet for several moments, then said, "I spoke with Kyp Durron last night. He was rather beligerent. And drunk."

Jaina felt her heart constrict and her throat close. She couldn't explain the sudden grief she was feeling. "What did you talk about?"

"I'm not really clear on that, actually. Mostly that he didn't feel like talking. And he said something . . . cryptic."

"Oh?"

"He said he'd made the mistake of believing something about you, but he was wrong, and you were what he thought you were."

Jaina frowned. "Well, that makes no sense." But guilt tickled at her.

Jag noticed her was distracted. "Look, if you want to be alone . . ."

"I'm okay." She forced a smile. "So, what's for breakfast?"

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Writing the Jaina/Jag stuff is killing me . . .

Dana

 

Here's a Kyp pic I made. Thought I'd post it here, there, and everywhere. This is a link to the page the pic is on, not the pic itself.

Kyp Durron

Dana

 

Writing Jaina/Jag and getting a grudging respect for the guy has been weird indeed, but at least you know your story is going to end a different way. I have no clue what my story is going to do!

Great post, Dantana! I can't wait to see more hungover Kyp!

Jae Angel

 

You have another fic [face_shocked] and I didn't know about it? [face_shocked]

But I like it!

 

I have THREE 'fics! Aren't you amazed I can keep them all sorted out?

Unfortunately, Kyp isn't really that hungover any more. Much later in the story, he gets a little into his cups, again, though. And that's something truly tragic, but I won't discuss it yet. I still have to write that part.

Dana

 

Next part . . .
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"That's a stupid idea."

"Not if you really think about it." Mara crossed her arms, then glanced at Luke. "What do you think?"

"If I know Jaina," Luke Skywalker said, "Telling her what you said yesterday will unnerve her. And if you turn around and act like that isn't how you feel, instead of making her forget what you said, it will make her think about it even more."

"I can't do it." Kyp shoved a hand through his silver-touched black hair, wincing as his head throbbed. "I don't feel comfortable manipulating her."

"You did before," Mara said.

"That was before I fell in love with her. I can't do that to her now. Besides, I was having a difficult enough time before I told her, when she suspected. And I've told her now, so she would know I was pretending."

"Would she?" Luke asked. "I think it would make her wonder."

"Okay, say I act like I'm over her. What if it works? What do I do then? Tell her I lied? She'd love that." Kyp glowered.

Luke smiled benignly. "Tell her you were trying to get over her, but it didn't work."

Kyp nodded. "That makes sense. And it might end up being true, because I'll have to do that if . . . you know, they end up . . . married, or something."

Luke closed his eyes. He was still for several long moments, while Mara frowned at him. When he opened his eyes, he said, "I can't get a sense of much of anything for the whole situation, except a very strong feeling that you need to stay close to Jaina."

"You know I don't like it when you do that," Mara said.

"I wasn't looking for personal gain," Luke said, smiling slightly. "I was looking out of the welfare of our niece."

"I still think you should let the visions come to you."

Her husband nodded. "I agree. But I wasn't after a vision, just a sense of what Kyp's next step should be."

Kyp held up his hands. "I'm going to run away now," he said. "I don't want to be dragged into this argument. Luke, if you do have any visions about this, tell me. unless it's very bad, because in that case, I'll probably be better off not knowing."

"Unless you can prevent it."

"Right." Kyp went to the door. "Thanks for helping. I'm sure you'll know when or if something happens."

------------------------------

The door shut behind Kyp and Mara turned to her husband. "Are you absolutely certain this is the right thing?" she asked.

Luke nodded. "Yes."

Despite what she'd told Kyp, Mara wasn't so sure. "Well, I'm not."

"I know," her husband said, getting to his feet. "This is something I've been thinking about since he lied to her about Sernpidal. And when I think about the two of them, it feels right. Jaina and Jag may be a formidable team when flying, but if Jaina and Kyp developed the kind of bond you and I have, with their flying skills . . . They're supposed to team up. Just as I was supposed to go after Artoo back on Tatooine. There's very little that I believe is coincidence. This is happening for a reason, and it just may be what saves us."

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Me need sleep . . .

Dana

 

LOL I like the idea of Kyp drunk.

Three fics huh, I just started writing my second. The fist isn't finished yet, but unlike you I have diffrent characters in the main role, so I won't have that problem.

I you're interested my fic is called "the Witness" It's also about Jaina and Kyp. The link is in my bio!

I like the post. I know you just posted, but post more soon!

 

Great post Dantana! You need sleep? Where are you from that it's time to go to sleep, or did you just not get enough last night?

Jae Angel

 

Okay, this is going to be my last post on this one for a while, because I've got to write more on this story. I should have more on this next week.

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He avoided Jaina and Jag for two days, which in itself was a miracle, considering Jaina's quarters were two doors down from Kyp's. On the morning of the third day, however, he woke when someone knocked on his door. Reminded strongly of the morning of his hangover, he sat up and shook his head, drawing on the Force to wake up more quickly.

Kyp opened the door to find Piggy waiting. This brought back echoes of the conversation on Borleias and he tried not to wince. "Great One?" he asked.

The Gamorrean nodded. "She wants to talk to you."

"Where?"

The pilot told him and he nodded, shutting the door. He needed to dress for this meeting, and since they were in hyperspace, expecting to be there for another day, at least, he didn't need to dress in a flightsuit.

Kyp opted for black pants and a shirt he'd bought on Hapes but had never worn. It was a deep, shimmery green, with loose sleeves, and it laced up the front. A purely frivolous garment, but something about it just spoke to him. Finally, he put on his black cape, the one he'd had for years, though just about everything, since Han Solo had given it to him upon his joining the Jedi Academy.

The Jedi Master strode into Jaina's "office" some fifteen minutes later, his lightsaber at his hip. Jaina was at the desk in one of three chairs, one behind, the other two opposite her on the other side of the desk. No one else was in the room, which surprised him. Captain Cardboard was nowhere to be seen.

Her hair was pulled back haphazardly at her nape, wisps falling free into her face. She looked up and Kyp was struck again by how breath-taking she was, especially when smiling. Not that she was smiling now. Quite the opposite.

"Take a seat," she said.

"I'd rather stand-"

"Sit down, Kyp," Jaina said quietly. "Please."

Kyp sank slowly into one of the free chairs. He waited until she spoke.

Jaina studied him, taking in the ponytail, black cape, and the green shirt that did wonders for him. She idly noticed that it matched his eyes and enhanced his roguishly handsome appearance. Forcing the thought away, she said, "I'd like to apologise for not speaking to you in private on Borleias, like you wanted. You should have had the chance to explain to me your reasons without having to edit for content because of Jag."

"Apology accepted," he replied softly.

"I understand why it's been uncomfortable for you. And I haven't been fair to you. I haven't been treating you as the friend you've become to me recently. The friend that you've been to my family since I was two, even with the conflicts. You've had my best interests at heart since Hapes, and I haven't really thanked you for that. You brought me back from that place I'd fallen to after Anakin died, and . . .

"You've looked out for me. And I'll admit that Jag hasn't exactly done that. Not the way you have. I know now I would have regretted not going to Anakin's funeral. Jag wouldn't have made me go. But you did. And I'm grateful. I can accept now that you did the right thing, even if you were a little heavyhanded in your approach."

"Knowing you, that was the only way I could have got you there," he said, not trusting himself to say anything else.

Jaina smiled fanitly. "Probably."

There was a moment of silence, then she said, "You've been avoiding me for the past few days, and I don't blame you."

"But you want me to understand that you're with Jag. And you want me to stop avoiding you," he finished for her. "Done."

She blinked in surprise.

"I've done a lot of thinking, and I've changed my mind," he said, though his throat threatened to constrict and cut off the lie.

Jaina stared at him for several moments. Did he just say he didn't love her? "So you're okay with me and Jag?"

No, he thought, but didn't say that. "I can't dictate that. It's not up to me to be okay with it or not."

She d