Room 317 [evening]

[tatooine_doofus]

Luke had decided that since he'd been in his room for a year, it was time to finally put up evidence that he lived there. Since he didn't have stuff, that took the form of photographs and holos of friends: he, Han and Leia right after the first Death Star, he and Wedge drunk later that same night, he, Rikku and Dawn looking giggly and high on sugar, he and Jaina, he and Rory, he and Tori...he and Z.

There weren't any photographs of him and his father (those were stuffed into a drawer at the moment) and he kept taking down Artoo's offering of a holo of him and Gavin believing they were Siegfried and Roy.

Corellian rock music was playing and the door was open. If he was caught staring off into space, well, he might've been reliving parts of last week's date with Jo.

[OOC: Open like a thing that is not closed.]

Comments

[solo_sword]

"I'd never do that to you," she promised. After all, he was going to end up teaching her one day. You played nice with the uncle someday responsible for the alternate you'd education. "And he's good. Please don't threaten him."

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

"I don't need to," Luke said with a smile. "You can take care of yourself. But I've got your back if you need it."

[solo_sword]

"Thank you," she said, obviously relieved. "Do you know how to get that across to... the person I still haven't figured out how to address by name?"

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

"Oh. Him." Luke's mouth thinned. "He does what he wants, Jaina. I certainly haven't figured out how his mind works."

[solo_sword]

Jaina eyed him, not wanting to take the conversation down but wondering if she hadn't already done that. "Everything okay?" she asked.

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

"As well as it could be," Luke said. "Every now and again I get smacked in the face with a reminder of what he used to be. It takes time to adjust."

[solo_sword]

She nodded seriously and said, "It's surprisingly easy to forget sometimes."

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

He nodded too. "I can't figure out why. I mean, I know in my head everything that Vader did. It just...took me until a few weeks ago to put it with the man who's walking around now not wearing that suit."

[solo_sword]

"It sounds shallow to say, but I think a lot of it is image. Without it, he doesn't seem like the type who would do those things," Jaina mused, and there was a reason she said would instead of could. "He's just a normal guy. He's still your father." And she knew a thing or two about hearing things about your father you really didn't want to hear. Just not quite on the same scale.

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

"He wasn't in the suit when he started doing those terrible things," Luke murmured, trusting that Jaina would understand why that was so painful. "It's gotten a lot harder to look him in the eyes since I learned that."

[solo_sword]

She nodded, getting it, though she had no way to put in words why. "What happened is always going to be true, though. There's no way to change it now," she said quietly. "All that's really changed is the vantage point."

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

Luke nodded. "Which means I have to get past it." He sighed. "I'm getting tired of being the bigger person."

[solo_sword]

Jaina had never known him at a time that he wasn't. "If it helps, he does seem to be trying, at least," she said. She couldn't say she agreed with his methods, but she did get the reasoning.

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

"Are you in his class?" Luke asked, sounding interested.

[solo_sword]

She nodded. "I'm curious," Jaina admitted. "It's an Ethics class with the man who was Vader. I've had more than enough ethical discussions to last me a lifetime, but I want to hear what he says."

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

"I'll bet," Luke said dryly. "Has he said anything yet to make your hair stand on end?"

[solo_sword]

"Not so far," she said. "He's bolder than I expected in class, but he talks to me differently than he does to the group."

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

Luke sat crosslegged on his bed and motioned for Jaina to join him. "Bolder how?" he asked. "And differently how?"

[solo_sword]

Jaina sat, tucking one leg under her. "He just doesn't seem to want to hear excuses, and he'll challenge people until they've thought through their answers. When I talk to him, though, I get the impression he's actually listening to what I have to say personally, and he actually tries to help."

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

Luke nodded. "That sounds like him," he said quietly. "Is he helping you?"

Trust Luke to focus on someone else's issues rather than his own.

[solo_sword]

"A lot of what he says makes sense," said Jaina, and yes, that was vaguely unsettling to her still, but she didn't worry about it. "Even if I can't always use the suggestions he gives, I have to think about why and what I can do instead."

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

"And if he starts leaning towards parts that feel wrong, you'll say something," Luke said, trusting her completely.

[solo_sword]

"Without hesitation," Jaina said immediately.

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

Luke nodded. "It's not that I don't trust him..." he began.

Except that it totally was.

[solo_sword]

He still needed to earn it. "But?" she prodded.