Eric's Apartment [evening. Of course it's evening. It's *always* evening with Eric]

[texted3times]

After time drinking, watching Tiny mutter to himself, and making light chitchat with Jaina, it was time to get the entire story out of her--or at least as much as she was willing to tell him.

"After you," he said, opening his door (he didn't lock because really. If you tried to rob Eric, you deserved what you got) and ushering her in.

Comments

[solo_sword]

Jaina stepped inside, frowning a little at the unlocked door. "You know that's how things get into your apartment on days Fandom thinks it's funny," she pointed out.

[texted3times]

"Huh," Eric said. "I never thought of that."

[solo_sword]

"I didn't either, and then I learned the hard way," she said. And then her dad lectured her when she made the mistake of telling him that. Oops.

[texted3times]

"Is that when you turned into a kitten?"

Because that was still funny.

[solo_sword]

"No. I knew I shouldn't have told you about that," she said, taking a seat on the sofa just so she could frown up at him.

[texted3times]

Eric flopped onto the sofa next to her. "You gave me leverage," he said, smirking. "So what snuck into your room when your door wasn't locked? Ex-boyfriend? Those random children?"

[solo_sword]

"You were a pony at the time," she reminded him. "And it was a gremlin. Not one of the little green things. Bigger and more violent. Not a great surprise when getting out of the shower."

She'd deserved the lecture, fine.

[texted3times]

Eric grinned and closed his eyes. "Did you kick its ass in a towel or no towel? I'm trying to get an accurate mental image."

[solo_sword]

Jaina thwapped his shoulder. "Not the point here," she said, and added, "And I got dressed first."

Ha.

[texted3times]

Eric looked very disappointed. "Well that's no fun at all," he complained. "I demand more naked ass kicking. Where do I lodge a complaint?"

[solo_sword]

"Gee, where's your brain tonight?" she teased.

[texted3times]

"Same place it normally is around you," he said with a little smile. "So, did I ply you with enough drinks to get the story about home out of you?"

[solo_sword]

"You probably didn't have to ply me with drinks for that," Jaina told him. She was trying not to make it all seem like a big deal, but Eric had actually gotten to see a little of what was going on. "There is no good news."

[texted3times]

Eric lifted up his arm, inviting Jaina to come closer. He wasn't exactly snuggly, but he was solid. "So tell me the bad."

[solo_sword]

She took the invitation to move closer, settling against him. "Well," she said, taking a breath and trying to figure out where to even start. "Jacen is very definitely a Sith, and he's leading the government now, which is working just so well."

[texted3times]

Eric hugged her against him. "So what's the game plan?"

[solo_sword]

It was still easy to say, because it was still just words, and it probably wouldn't sink in until she got up in front of the Council and it all became real. "I kill him."

[texted3times]

Eric had come to that conclusion a while back, so he nodded. "Are you prepared?"

[solo_sword]

"Mentally, yes," she said. She still had some doubts, but she knew she could put those aside when she had to. "Physically... we'll see. He's still got tricks I don't even know."

[texted3times]

"Are there in your family who would know them?" Eric asked pragmatically.

[solo_sword]

Jaina turned her hand over in a so-so gesture. "Jacen doesn't always share. He had five years where he went off and learned everything he can, and so a lot of the time he'd just do something and that was how we found out he could," she explained. "So we know some of them, but probably not close to everything he can do."

[texted3times]

"Wonderful," Eric said. "But you went off and learned new tricks too, right?"

[solo_sword]

She nodded. "I've got tools I can use now," she said. "He'll be expecting a whole different fighting style than I can use now."

It was still hard not to sound a little clinical about all of this.

[texted3times]

Eric understood and appreciated clinical. "So now it's a matter of finding him? Or are you going to wait for him to find you?"

[solo_sword]

"I'd prefer finding him first, being on the offensive than the defensive. Plus, if Jacen comes after us, we're probably going to lose our base, wherever we are at the time. We can't afford that, and it's easier to arrange for an extraction, if possible," she said. "I've had a lot of time to think about this."