WHO: Allana, Jacen Solo, and Willow Rosenberg WHAT: The formerly evil witch meets the not yet evil Jedi, courtesy of one mischievous little girl. WHEN: Evening (backdated before the Truth Serum Plot) WHERE: Out and about RATING: PG (if that) STATUS: Complete; logged and posted in its entirety
Willow needed to get away from the hotel for a while. Everyone there had been wonderful with accepting her back into the fold, and she was grateful for that, but she still felt guilt-ridden and didn't really want to hear anymore about how none of what had happened was her fault. The fact that she'd been poisoned was of little consequence. People were still dead because of her. Horrible things had happened - and might happen still if she couldn't reverse some of the damage - because of her. So while she greatly appreciated people going out of their way to make her feel welcomed, she'd had about all she could stand.
So, she took to the streets. With no particular destination in mind, she'd simply let her feet head where they wanted while keeping close tabs on her magic for any trouble in the area. It was actually a relatively quiet evening, she realized after an hour or so of wandering about. Which, of course, is exactly when fate had to prove her wrong.
There was a sensation much like someone running their fingers across her spine. She shivered, once, and immediately her jaw tightened as her magic let her know trouble was in the area. Closing her eyes she disappeared from the sidewalk and appeared an instant later in an alley a few blocks away. There was a man (vampire, her mind instantly stated) with his back to her. He was hunched over something small. Small and terrified, actually. Willow could practically taste the fear in the air.
"Come on, little girl," the creature cooed, his words jumbled from the fangs that filled his mouth. "This won't hurt. Much."
Willow didn't give the potential victim a chance to reply. Instead she simply reached out, grasped the vampire by the back of his shirt, and flung him into the wall. He hit it hard then quickly spun, hissing at her. "Thicken," she muttered with a flick of her wrist and the creature froze in place. She turned her attention to his intended target... and felt her blood practically boil.
She was just a child. A small, clearly frightened, wide-eyed child. Huddled as far into a small gap between the two buildings that she could manage with her legs drawn up to her chest and her arms wrapped securely around her knees. Swallowing, Willow looked around for any sign of her parents before taking a hesitant step closer.
"Hey there," she spoke softly, dropping into a crouch in front of the girl. "My name's Willow. What's yours?"
The girl stared at her for a second, debating whether or not to reply to this stranger, before finally deciding she really shouldn't be rude to someone who had just saved her from that... whatever it was with the sharp teeth and yellow eyes. "Allana," she finally whispered, her voice sounding even smaller than she was. "And my daddy's going to be really mad when he finds me."
Willow smiled a bit, hoping against hope that the girl's father wasn't already dead courtesy of the vampire who had been trying to eat her. She didn't voice that fear, though, but instead responded, "Well, I tell you what Allana. I'm going to help you find your daddy. I just need you to take my hand and walk out of this alley with me first, okay?" As she spoke, a nearby piece of wood rose into the air and stabbed the vampire in the heart. He turned to dust without so much as a single sound, still frozen in place by her spell, as Allana slowly placed her tiny hand in Willow's and crawled from her hiding spot.
"I wasn't s'posed to run off," she stated worriedly, glancing around. Her brow furrowed a bit. "Hey, where'd that thing go?" She glanced upward, toward the roof, then back to Willow with wide eyes. "Did you make him go away? Are you a Jedi, too?"
It was at the word 'Jedi' that Willow went still. Very, very still, in fact.
"Allana," she asked as casually as she could while reaching out with her magic in search of anyone close with the feel of the Force about them. "What's your daddy's name?"
Jacen reached out with the Force, using all of his strength to search the entirety of the city. It was incredibly difficult to find a single person amongst millions, but he was as powerful as a Jedi Master, and easily as strong as Luke. The likelihood of him letting something as insignificant as difficulty stop him from finding his daughter was somewhere in the range of microns. Moving with purpose, and as quickly as he could, he narrowed his focus until he found the single bright star that was his beautiful child, standing out from the millions of people in LA like the Falcon did at a spaceport.
Moving with all the speed he could rip out of the Force, Jacen was a blur, dodging people, vehicles, and the occasional animal as he homed in on Allana. He could sense her fear within the Force, as something threatened his daughter. The sense of danger propelled him faster, something he had not thought possible. Finally, with a sensational leap that took him a full twenty meters, he landed at the opening of the alley way. With righteous fatherly rage, he ignited his lightsaber, adopting a persona akin to a death wraith, coming for the soul of the damned. As far as Jacen was concerned, anyone threatening his daughter was dead. It was just a matter of hurrying them along to their final destination.
"Oh, there he is!" Allana exclaimed as someone appeared in the alley. Willow's eyes widened and she felt her breath catch in her throat.
Oh Goddess, I'm good again for five minutes and I'm facing angry Jedi... she thought distantly before finally making her voice work. "Um, hi there. I'm guessing you're her daddy? Dad. Father. Something? Because there was this vampire, and he was going to eat her, and I kinda stopped the vampire but I kinda worried that you were already dead so I wasn't really sure what to do with her, but if you'll just put away the lightsaber and stop with the glare of doom I'll quite happily hand her back over to you and I have got to learn to stop babbling."
Finally pausing to draw in a breath, she felt a small tug on her hand and looked downward. Allana peered back up at her and said simply, "He won't hurt you. He helps people." She looked back to Jacen. "And I'm sorry I ran away. I didn't really mean to. I just saw something and before I knew it my feet had carried me off."
Releasing Willow's hand, she took a few steps closer and asked worriedly, "You aren't mad, are you?"
Willow realized, however distantly, that she was holding her breath and waiting for an answer to the very same question. Because even though she was powerful, and knew she'd stand a damn good chance against just about anyone, she would rather not have to go toe to toe with a Jedi right now. Or ever, really.
For the first time in a long time, Jacen had allowed his fury to pour out into the Force. He was not used losing emotional control like this, and his daughter's nervous little plea was enough to remind him that he loved his daughter, and that chopping someone into snack-sized bits in front of her was hardly conducive to a trauma-free childhood.
Bit by bit, Jacen reigned in his anger, pouring it out elsewhere, withdrawing back into himself. After an internal eternity that could not have been more than a single, silent, tense minute, he felt he could take honest stock of the situation. Taking one step forward, Jacen studied the redhead who was standing near his daughter. Jacen had a weakness for redheads, admittedly, and this one was certainly pretty, but that was a detail that did not even flicker in his mind. Reaching out with the Force, he felt that Allana was a little scared, but physically and mentally fine. Going toward his little girl, he turned off his lightsaber, scooped her up, and hugged her tight.
"I should lock you in a small box for a month, after making sure you can't sit down for a week," he muttered crossly, crushing Allana against his chest.
Looking over Allana's little head at the stranger, he reached out with the Force, touching the emotional currents that swirled around her. She was nervous, and he did not get the impression of deception, so she was probably telling the truth. Enough of it, anyway.
"Thank you for helping my daughter," he muttered, not sure if he should extend trust or not. Saving his daughter gave her huge points, but he was too much the Jedi not to think people would try to manipulate him that way. He would watch and see.
Allana gave a muffled squeak when Jacen picked her up and crushed her against him. She wriggled a bit, re-arranging herself so she could see what was going on, and exclaimed with wide eyes, "I'm sorry! I am! I won't ever never ever do it again. Promise!" Clearly the thought of not sitting down for a week, much less the small box for a month, was not a pleasant one for the child.
Still, following her apology, she fell silent and let the grown-ups talk. Now that Jacen was holding her, she knew he wouldn't hurt Willow. He'd know she was telling the truth, that they both were.
Willow, however, wasn't positive of that fact. Not entirely. Not until Jacen said thank you, at least. Then she relaxed ever so slightly... and immediately fell into another babble.
"It's not a problem," she began, intending on keeping it short and simple. Best laid plans and all of that, though, because immediately she added, "Thanks for putting away the lightsaber and big old glare of doom, too. I really thought for a minute there that you were going to attack me, which would be bad because I really don't want to fight anyone, especially a Jedi because that way usually leads to missing limbs and it would probably hurt a lot to try to grow something like that back and I'm kinda trying to avoid the whole pain thing right now on account of me really not liking pain and, you know, you should really make sure that she does stay inside because vampires can probably sense her Force potential and are gonna be drawn to it like the moth to a flame and, oh Hecate, someone stop me already!"
Falling silent, she flashed him a small, embarrassed sort of grin. "I'm sorry," she stated in a much calmer tone after a second. "I babble when I'm nervous. I'm trying to work on it." A heartbeat and she stated, "Guess I need to work a little harder, huh?"
Allana giggled, then gasped as she realized she'd giggled, and quickly buried her face in Jacen's shirt.
Willow smiled and shook her head a bit, glancing at the girl then back to Jacen. "I'm Willow," she offered. "Willow Rosenberg." She opened her mouth to ask more - specifically about Allana and the way the girl looked - but opted against it for the time being. She didn't know this man, didn't know much about him at all except that he was a Jedi and had a daughter named Allana. Somehow, she couldn't imagine pointing out that she could see right through Allana's disguise would sit well with him. Nor would her offer to help make the disguise a little... better.
Jacen hugged Allana a bit tighter, happy to have his daughter back. However, he really did not get the chance to get a word in edgewise as the stranger babbled along, quite happily he thought, after he had thanked her. He really had to smile when she described what a lightsaber did to limbs. It cauterized the wounds, so as far as he knew, it hurt like the devil. He unconsciously flashed his most charming Solo grin, the one that made every woman from Coruscant to Almania weak at the knees. "Yes, Willow, you most certainly have work to do in that department."
Shifting Allana to his left arm, he extended his right hand. That cocky smile in place, he replied, "My name is Jacen Solo."
He added a fatherly frown as he looked down at Allana. "Allana you have met."
Looking back at Willow, he started to ask for an explanation before his Force senses alerted him to danger. His lightsaber back at hand, he casually added, "I do not think we are alone anymore."
Allana, at least, had the grace to look a little chagrined as he looked down at her, before countering the look with one of her most brilliant smiles. Then he spoke about not being alone and, already knowing that when Jacen grabbed his lightsaber things were probably going to be dangerous, she stayed silent and simply clung to him.
Willow, however, was busy with a much different reaction. Her own magicks alerting her to the fact that something wicked was approaching, she turned toward the end of the alley in time to see a handful of... well... actually, she wasn't sure what they were, but her guess would be demons of some type. Big, scaly, not-pleasant looking demons, to be exact.
"Oh, Goddess..." she muttered, glancing back at Jacen. "You might want to get her out of here," she suggested as magic began to pour from her hands and slowly wrap around her arms. She looked to the demons as one roared in a blood-curdling sort of way, then turned back to Jacen once more. Her eyes had bled from green to completely black, the tips of her brilliant red hair starting to follow suit. "This is probably going to get ugly."
And with that, she spun back toward the monsters and unleashed a wave of magic that sent two slamming sideways into the buildings and caused one to burst into flames and erupt into a bloody, gooey mess an instant later.
What do I look like, Threepio? Jacen thought with some slight irritation. "You will pardon me if I decline your generous offer. Instead, I propose a counter. Try to keep up as we break through."
With that casual challenge, Jacen snuggled Allana in his arm, keeping her eyes covered, and then charged into the midst of the ugly beasts that blocked the alleyway, his green blade weaving through a double loop before he sliced the first beast from hip to shoulder and used a powerful Force Wave to shove all the beasts out of his way and knock them down twenty meters away. Using the Force, Jacen launched his lightsaber, sending it sailing through the air, slicing through four of the stunned creatures before recalling it to his hand.
Five down, only a few dozen to go.
With that thought done, Jacen fought on, turning crossing the street into an intricate dance of death, dispatching stray demons with masterful sword strokes that were powerful yet as delicate as the breath of a butterfly's wings. He had not formally laid claim to the rank of Jedi Master yet, but that was only because he wanted people to underestimate him. He knew that no one in his own time matched him, so he was not going to worry too much about the accolades.
He had a far more precious bundle to worry about in his arms.
Today, Willow!
Contrary to popular belief, Willow was keeping up. She just wasn't doing it in quite the same was as Jacen. After all, she wasn't a Jedi. Or even remotely close to one. And at the moment - at his refusal to get his daughter to safety and let her handle the demons - she wasn't very fond of the only Jedi in the vicinity, either.
Stupid guy with his nice daughter and handsome smile and... wait. No, bad Willow. You like girls, remember? Besides, he's stupid. And... and a boy. A very well-put-together, charming, no not charming, boy! Her mental tirade carried her across the street that had suddenly become a battlefield, demons erupting into flames as she walked. Magic crackled around her, shooting out in every direction at anything that drew close.
Her path was stopped, however, as three demons immediately rushed toward her. With a frown of displeasure (still aimed at Jacen, really) she simply levitated into the air and glowered down at them. "I may not be bored, but I'm sure not happy," she stated and the skin peeled away from all three demons at once. They fell to the ground in a heap and she turned her attention to the (stupid boy) Jedi to check his progress.
And happened to notice that the demons had reinforcements that were arriving in droves.
"Jacen!" Allana's voice reached her from over the fray, full of wonder. A small hand was pointed in her direction. "She's flying!"
Now, Willow was torn. Her instincts said these things were attacking for a reason. Her instincts also said that eventually they would get the upper hand because Jacen clearly wasn't putting Allana down, and while he was an amazing fighter holding onto her, he was going to tire. Realizing these two facts, her instincts were left with one logical conclusion. It was time to get out of there.
"THICKEN!" she bellowed a heartbeat later and the demons instantly went still, struggling in place but wholly unable to move. Disappearing from her spot in the air, she reappeared beside Jacen. "We're leaving," she announced as she placed a hand on his shoulder. The scenery disappeared and re-appeared a moment later, revealing an empty street with a large hotel in front of them.
Still frowning, she sent a quick telepathic message to Peter telling him where to find the demons, then she glanced to Jacen. "Alrighty," she stated, the frown seeming to disappear and her typical perky smile returning. "Now that the demons will be taken care of by people who aren't carrying small children in their arms, where to?"
Jacen was a torrent of lightsaber-bearing death as he gracefully slashed his way through the hordes of demons. It really had been a stupid decision to not take his sports car out to look for Allana, but he really had not been thinking of escape when he had gone looking for her. That would teach him a lesson. Never leave the hotel room to rescue your daughter if she went missing and might be attacked by demons.
One of the beasts slipped in too close to his guard, its twisted claws reaching for Allana. Without thinking, Jacen twisted his body, taking the attack on his back before slicing through the demon's head.I am going to feel that one in the morning...
About then, things got peculiar. One moment Jacen had been fighting his way out of a sticky situation, the next Allana and his own eyes were telling him that his new acquaintance could fly, and the one after that, he was standing in front of a large hotel. He eyed Willow as she commented that others would be taking care of the demons, which was fine by him. Allana was far more important.
With that in mind, he flashed his father's grin again. "Thank you again, Willow. I can always appreciate being saved from too much extra exercise. If you have some time to spare, would you like to accompany my daughter and I back to our place? I can offer you whatever is in the fridge, or order food. You have helped me twice with my little girl, so it is the least I can do."
Plus, it would let him do something about his back. It hurt like hell, and he was probably bleeding pretty bad. Minor annoying detail...
In all of the commotion, Willow hadn't even realized that he was injured. She likely wouldn't have realized it at that moment either, courtesy of the grin he sent her way, if it hadn't been for Allana. Because clearly, she was immune to such a grin and was far more interested in taking in her surroundings. Which meant peering in all angles, including as far around Jacen's back as she could see.
With a gasp, the child exclaimed, "You're hurt!"
Whatever spell Jacen had cast over Willow with his smile (and she knew it just had to be some kind of spell because she liked girls, damn it) was broken at those words. Instantly the redhead moved behind Jacen to peer at the wounds, hissing a bit in sympathy before finally speaking.
"Sounds like a good idea to me!" she replied perkily enough. "Do you want to walk, or want me to get us there? Because I can. I just need you to describe the place or, better yet, picture it in your mind." She nodded in a matter-of-fact way before giving the wide-eyed girl in his arms an encouraging smile. "He'll be okay. I promise."
Which was one promise she knew she could keep. After all, healing Jacen would be as easy as pie... and not the really difficult kind, either. Unless, of course, he put up some sort of fuss. If that were the case, he'd have to just heal on his own. Which, considering he was a boy and boys tended to be stubborn about things like that, could very well happen.
And why am I agreeing to go to his place, then? If he's going to be a boy about it, and won't let me help him, and I'm not really all that hungry since Xander and I pigged out on junk food over movies earlier, why don't I just tell him no? Yeah, okay, he has a good smile. He's nice to look at. But I like girls. Soft, pretty, definitely not boy, type girls. Yet all of her reminding aside, she couldn't deny the slight flutter she'd felt in her stomach at his smile, nor could she ignore the fact that she was actually enjoying herself in his company... and that alone was saying something considering she hadn't enjoyed much of anything since her return from being evil.
Well, so much for quietly and with great dignity returning to the apartment, where he could silently heal himself. He gave Allana a mock-scowl he knew she would recognize as a joke, but once again unleashed his devastating smile on Willow.
"Well, it would be rather rude to decline your generous offer to take us there, not that we have established that you can just...think us there. So..."
With great delicacy, Jacen reached out with the Force, and lightly touched Willow's mind, letting her know exactly where Allana and he were staying. He was taking a risk, trusting her, but she was too strong to be just toying with them. Besides, Allana seemed to like her. And she was very pretty...
"Might I ask you to heal me, if you can?"
He really hoped she would. Allana clearly needed to be watched with both eyes, or who knew what other trouble she would get into?
Willow smiled, giving a nod of her head. "I can, and not a problem," she replied. "But first..." Once more she touched him, this time on his elbow, and closed her eyes, teleporting them away from the Hyperion and to the area that Jacen said he and his daughter were staying. Directly inside the hotel room, in fact, since Willow really didn't want to take any chances of anything else bad happening before they could get there.
As soon as they were inside, Allana was wriggling free of Jacen's grasp and darting across the room to the television. Turning it on, she promptly sat down in front of it and began rapidly changing channels as fast as her fingers could move and her mind could process the images. Willow watched her for a second, somewhat puzzled, but decided it really wasn't her place to question the girl.
So instead, her attention went back to Jacen. "This'll just take a second, promise," she stated with a grin and gently placed her hands a few inches over his injuries. A glow spread from her palms, across his wound, and a warmth made its way along with the glow. She glanced back toward Allana when she felt the girl's eyes upon her and tossed her a wink.
Allana grinned then quickly went back to the television, still changing channels at a rapid pace with a look of wide-eyed anticipation on her face.
"She's cute," Willow commented idly, keeping her voice low as she used her magic to clear away the blood that had spilled from his injuries. "I don't guess you'd tell me why you're hiding her behind a glamor even if I asked, huh?" Before he could answer, she moved back around to face him and added simply, "All finished."
Jacen blinked as they arrived inside the hotel, a little surprised that Willow elected to deposit them directly inside the room, rather than make them walk a few harmless steps inside. What harm could possibly happen in a short walk up a flight of stairs into a hotel room. One look at Allana, and he decided it was far smarter of her to have done this instead.
Of course, the television beckoned Allana forward almost as soon as they were inside the hotel room. He had never figured out how children scampered so quickly toward something they wanted, but he had a choice thing or two to mutter under his breath about mindrotting things that ran on flatscreens. At least cartoons were colorful and innocent.
The warm glow that suffused his back when Willow healed him startled him a little out of his grumpy paternal reverie, but it was a nice feeling. His back felt better pretty quickly. Then Willow dropped her little bomb at being able to see through his illusions and he quickly considered whether murder was a good idea or not. Then he thought about a mind rub, but that was also out. Finally, he explained in a very soft voice, "She's a princess, she's four, and I don't want anyone to recognize her. How did you know she was being hidden?"
Wholly unaware of Jacen's brief internal debate over killing her or erasing her memory, Willow's smile was still as carefree as it typically was when she answered him. "Glamors, illusions, things of those nature don't work on me," she stated simply at first, her own tone as quiet as it had been when she'd first asked her question. Honestly, she hadn't expected a response at all from him, or possibly a 'none of your business' type of remark, so she didn't have time to think up some really cool excuse as to how she had seen through his ruse. Not that she likely would have anyway. Willow tended to tell the truth. Lies made her feel funny and caused her voice to do this weird thing that gave her away every time.
"I see an aura around a person before I see them, if I try hard enough," she went on to explain. "It's not always strong and most times I don't really look for it at all. But when I found her in that alley, I had to make sure she was okay, and that was the quickest way to do it." Her attention went back to Allana as the girl let out a soft gasp.
"Look, Jacen!" the child exclaimed, hopping up and down as she pointed to the screen. "Look look look look look! IT'S DARTH VADER!"
Willow's eyes widened as she quickly turned toward the television, easily recognizing the scene playing out upon it. Star Wars. The Empire Strikes Back. The infamous scene where Luke learns who his father is, or at least the lead-up to it. Willow knew the movie as well as she knew her own name, courtesy of her friendship with Xander. "Oh Goddess..." she whispered just as the most mis-quoted line in the history of the cinema was finally uttered.
"No. I am your father."
As Luke's disbelieving shout of 'NOOOO' sounded throughout the room, Willow glanced to Jacen. If you want me to make the channel go out, just let me know, she sent to him telepathically, not about to make such an assumption herself but also knowing there was a very real possibility that he wouldn't want his daughter watching that play out on the television.
... and wait. Had Allana just called him Jacen?
"Oh, Sithspit," Jacen muttered as the absolute worst possible thing that could possibly wander across a flatscreen broadcast just so happened to pop up at just about one of the worst times it could possibly happen. He had heard the story enough times to know what happened next, but what in all the hells was he going to do now? Allana had just had one family revelation she simply did not need to....
Wait! She doesn't know I'm her father! Saved by a....oh, wait. Neither does Willow.
How awkward. He really had to explain to Allana the concept of "not dropping cover". It would save him so many uncomfortable explanations. Mind rub or explaining? Well, he was in too deep now anyway. Jacen chose to respond to Willow. She called me by name because she doesn't know I am her father. Bad family habit.
After a moment or two of thought, he added, Besides, the damage is done. She can't see anything worse now anyway.
With some effort, he flashed his smile at Willow, and approached Allana with that same smile. "Yes, sweetie, that's Darth Vader. Didn't I tell you he was scary? Now, before you ask me a million questions, you should probably watch the end of the movie, isn't that right?"
I am going to kill someone.
All things considered, realizing that Jacen was actually Allana's father, yet she didn't know it, wasn't very high on Willow's lists of surprises. She easily deduced that clearly Jacen was using the father bit, at least in Allana's eyes, as a cover story. Ironic that he was using the truth to mislead someone from a falsehood, but she had to admit that it was definitely an almost guaranteed way to keep people from actually catching on.
Allana stared at Jacen with wide eyes, nodding once before quickly looking back to the television screen once more just in time to see Luke drop off the edge of the platform and begin to fall. She gasped, her small hand going to her mouth as she anxiously raised up on her toes and silently willed something to keep the man from falling all the way to the bottom. Nevermind that she knew who that very same man was, in her own reality, and nevermind that she knew Darth Vader didn't win because he was already long gone by the time she'd been born. For the time being she was as breathless with anticipation as anyone else who had never seen the movie before, caught up in the action and forgetting most everything else around her.
"Well," Willow spoke after a second, her smile fond as she looked to Jacen. "At least you know she won't be making with the sneaking off again as long as the movie's on." Leave it to Willow to always look to the bright side of things. Most of the time, anyway.
"So, not that I'm trying to be Miss Holds You To Your Word because really, not exactly something I'm overly fond of doing, but would it be okay if I got a glass of water? Healing kinda takes it out of me, sometimes, especially after teleporting. And while meditating brings me up to par a lot quicker, hydration works just as well."
Relieved that the trouble factor had been substantially reduced for a while, Jacen watched the screen with a bit of interest. It was one thing to hear the stories; actually watching the scenes play out was an experience in and of itself. He nodded when Willow commented that Allana wasn't going to get into any more trouble....for the next ten minutes or so. He didn't trust those wily Solo genes for good cause; he had them too.
When Willow asked for a glass of water, Jacen flashed his grin at her again. "But of course. Let me go get it for you."
Jacen walked with casual ease into the kitchen, washing a glass and rinsing it out before he filled it with water. Stopping to look around, Jacen noted that there was some food that were still fresh, but nothing he would call special. Although the half-empty bottle of whiskey at the bottom of the cabinent did provide some interesting food for thought.
Returning to the main room, his smile returned when he saw Willow was almost as intent on the movie as Allana was. It was a good show, he had to admit. "Here you go. Would you like to order out?"
Willow took the glass of water with a smile, having moved to the edge of one of the beds and perched down at the end of it. Her green-eyed gaze flickered back to the television screen as she took a sip before looking back to him. "Oh! If-if you want. I'm not super hungry but I could go for a little something." Her eyes widened a bit. "To eat. Something to eat. As in food."
"Oh, Goddess," she mumbled under her breath and looked back to the movie. "So I bet that has to be kind of weird, huh? Knowing there are movies here about things you know to be true where you're from. And books. Can't forget the books."
Allana giggled, although it wasn't at the conversation taking place. Rather the commercial that had come on was one aimed at kids. She watched it with enthusiasm and Willow took the opportunity to look fully away from the movie and to her host.
"Okay. Enough with that. I've practically got those movies memorized." She grinned. "Just one of the perks to being friends with Xander. Anywho. You said something about food. Anything in particular? Because I gotta admit, I'm not big with the weird stuff. Pizza is good. So are burgers. Nothing that used to swim. I just have issue with that."
Jacen raised an eyebrow at the slightly-babbling Willow. "Well, my dear, what is ordered out is up to you. I have no idea what people around here consider good eating."
With a negligent wave of his hand, Jacen used the Force to move the massive yellow book from under the desk to Willow's lap, gently dropping it between her thighs and propping it open. He would let Willow busy herself with food options, namely because Jacen had not moved beyond the ramen packs currently stockpiled in Jaina's cabinets. Therefore, he was really clueless about what sort of things were out there in this particular world.
"My treat," he added, as he casually plopped down next to Willow, comfortably adjusting himself so he could watch the commercials and wait for the movie to return. This Xander person sounded a lot like Jaina's....apprentice, if one used the word loosely. Personally, anyone who created a pink lightsaber needed help. And not the Jedi kind. Not the sort of person he really wanted to spend too much quality time with. although, if Xander was more well-adjusted...
"It is indeed distinctly....weird. Especially when people take things just a little too far. Especially when it comes to worship. I did not need to know that people worship my dad in such a....unhealthy way. Nor do I really like the idea of people know us....quite so intimately."
Jacen shrugged. "I guess it is one of those things."
Willow had the grace to at least look somewhat chagrined at the raised eyebrow. She knew she was babbling. She tried to help it, she really did. But what did he expect? She'd always been a babbler. That wasn't going to change overnight. Especially not when she was having a conversation with someone she'd always thought to be a fictional character.
Although she would admit that at least she was keeping her excitement about that under wraps. Or was doing her best. She hoped she wasn't being too wide-eyed and awestruck, at least.
Her attention went to the phone book but she made no move to really read it. Instead she just placed her palm over the wording and closed her eyes for a second. Looking back to Jacen, she nodded. "Pizza," she decided with a slight nod.
Already she was pulling her cellphone from her pocket and, after placing their order, put the phone book away then returned to her seat... and the conversation she'd been having with Jacen.
"Back when the movies first came out, your dad was the epitome of cool, you know," she stated with a hint of a grin. "I mean, we were a world that hadn't really been past our own moon, so yeah, it wasn't hard to really impress us with stuff, but I'm pretty sure Han Solo is probably one of the more famous of the heroes out there who doesn't have some really nifty superpower to rely on all the time."
Allana had turned her attention from the movies to Willow while the woman was speaking, and was now studying her with an open, frank, curious expression on her face. "You've never really been past your own moon?" she asked, looking to Jacen.
"Did you hear that? Their moon!" The astonishment was obvious, both in her tone as well as her mannerisms.
Jacen nodded complacently when Willow said that she wanted pizza, even though he really had no idea what pizza was. Hopefully, it was not anything too....unappetizing. He had seen people eat some very...undigestable things in his day, and he really would prefer to avoid adding to that list. He watched with interest as Willow placed the order with a small com unit. He would probably need one of those if he wanted to maintain operations around here. And keep in touch with his sister.
"Might I ask where I could get one of those?" Jacen asked, pointing to her com unit as he casually propped himself up on an elbow.
He listened without any real surprise when she described his father as the 'epitome of cool'. He was Han Solo, after all. He said as much to Willow, adding, "He is none too thrilled about being here, either. At least he has the Falcon. If he had arrived without her, well....there are no words to describe how grumpy my father can be without his favorite flying heap of space debris."
Jacen smiled at his little girl as she expressed her dismay at the primitive state of technology on this dustball. It was not the fault of the Earthlings that they were about two steps beyond the sticks and stone arrows stage of their development, but it certainly left an impressionable little girl dumbfounded. She was used to far more sophisticated things, and space travel was just an every day event, as far as she was concerned.
"I heard, dear. It's not their fault they're not as smart as we are. But they'll catch up eventually. For now, though, you should be nice, and not pick on her new friend for being stuck on a single planet her entire life. Hey..."
Jacen pointed at the screen. "They're starting a new movie!"
A squeal filled with the excitement that only childhood could bring burst from Allana and, already, she was moving back to her spot in front of the television so quickly that she very nearly overshot it and skidded a bit on the carpet before finally plopping down on the ground and staring with wide eyes up at the screen. As the beginning of the movie finally began rolling across the television set, Allana was once more entranced with an outsider's glimpse of her own galaxy.
Willow smiled fondly and looked to Jacen. "It's a cellphone," she stated. Realizing he might not know what she was referring to, she pulled her phone back out of her pocket. "This, I mean. You can buy them just about anywhere, really. It's pretty nifty if you want to get in touch with somebody in a pinch."
She hesitated for a second, studying him for a moment, before holding the phone out for him to look at. Part of her was worried that he was going to take the thing apart or something, but she figured if anyone related to Anakin Skywalker took something apart, they would also know how to put it back together again. And if he didn't... well, then Jacen was going to owe her a new phone, that was for sure.
Jacen smiled indulgently at his energetic little girl, pleased that his little distraction had worked. For the moment, anyway. Using his own childhood as a guide, however, he had no hopes simple ruses would work for her longer than age five. And even that was pushing it a bit. For now, though, as long as she was busy watching things that happened in a galaxy far, far away, he would be content with her temporary attention redirection.
Jacen accepted Willow's cellphone, turning it over in his hands curiously. It was a pleasant, quaint device, with more features than his com unit, an interesting surprise."I won't be taking this apart, by the way. I am not the techie in the family. That honor goes to my sister. However, I would like to get one say...tomorrow?"
The Solo smile pinned Willow to the bed. "I would greatly appreciate your company tomorrow for it."
"Good," Willow replied lightly, "because I just got that one after my last one was lost to the inside of a demon, so I'd really like to keep it in one piece if possible." Her grin froze in place at his question, eyes widening slightly at the smile.
Once again her stomach did that strange fluttering that she knew it shouldn't be doing because he was a boy, and before she could even think about what to say she found herself nodding in agreement. "Sounds like a... plan! A very good, well-thought out, plan. Yes. Plan."
Because she hadn't been about to say 'date'. Nope, not at all. No dates for her. Especially not dates that involved handsome men with really charming smiles and some pretty nifty abilities. No, not in the slightest.
And even though she wasn't paying attention to the conversation around her, and even though her reaction was from the movie, at Allana's giggle, Willow had to wonder if she herself was the only person who still believed that she was well and truly 'gay'.