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]

"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.

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

"He hasn't done anything to indicate he was sliding back--and Force knows Umbridge was an incentive--but I just can't accept it. I'm not sure if it's my emotions clouding the Force, and I certainly don't want him to feel watched or trapped." He glanced over at Jaina. "I think you're in a better position than I right now to keep taking his temperature."

[solo_sword]

"And I don't want to watch or trap him," Jaina nodded. The things she'd heard about the Umbridge stuff indicated the exact opposite of a slide to her. "I think it's easier for me, because I grew up knowing who and what he was. I can't really be any more or less disappointed in what happened before. But I know what to look for, too."

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

Luke's eyes lasered into hers. "How do you know what to look for?" he asked.

[solo_sword]

Jaina's pause was taken entirely to figure out how to say this without spoilers for his timeline. "Let's just say I've deal with a few people who have overstepped a boundary or two," she said slowly.

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

Luke let out a heavy sigh. Clearly he didn't know enough to train other Jedi. But he'd always kind of guessed that.

"Very well," he said in a tone that meant he was more than fine steering away from these dangerous waters, "keep doing what you're doing. If the unthinkable starts happening, let me know."

[solo_sword]

Hearing the sigh, she kind of wanted to reassure him, but there wasn't really anything she could say that might not mess things up down the line.

"I will," she said. "I should probably leave you to your music, and happier things."

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

Luke gave her a small smile. "I'll see you soon," he promised, "and promise not to let the conversation get this heavy."

[solo_sword]

Jaina smiled back and stood, heading for the door. "I'll call the boys tonight. No bad music, I promise."