OPEN POST • ALL-PURPOSE TEXTING MEME

[notanybunny]

for your TFLNs, overflows and general texting shenanigans

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[vaderfan]

That might be true, but I owe you my life. Besides, you're family.

If I knew how to put a stop to them, I would.

[dathomiri]

No, it is I who owe you.

[ Don’t argue, Ben. She can do this all day. ]

Alas, it will not stop. At least not drastically, and perhaps not in our lifetime. It is simply how things work in Hapes. Politics and intrigue and death.
But I thank you for your offer.

There is, however, something you might be able to assist me with.

[vaderfan]

[Well, by now he's learned not to argue the point. TK can be just as stubborn as Jacen (and Ben but he's not going to admit that). He'll just continue to quietly believe otherwise.]

And what would that be?

[dathomiri]

Your brother.

[ She doesn’t really know where to begin, how to begin. Or why she’s even talking to Ben about this, of all people. Aren’t women supposed to ask their lady friends about this sort of thing, anyway?

But she trusts him, enough to entrust her daughter’s life to him. ]

I am conflicted, and it terrifies me.

[ Gee, way to make it sound worse than it is, TK. ]

[vaderfan]

[What? What about his brother? Maybe he sends this too fast to maintain his usual illusion of impassive control.]

What about him?

[dathomiri]

[ It takes her a while to respond. Expressing herself is not something she’s used to. ]

We did not marry for love, Ben. The wedding was nothing more than publicity, for each of our own agendas.
That is not to say he is not my friend. Or that I do not admire him.

[ Her next message takes even longer to arrive. ]

But I am beginning to feel differently.
It is difficult to explain.

[vaderfan]

[On one hand, he knows that. He knows it was political because he knows his brother and he'd seen how staged all the HoloNet coverage was. On the other, he can't believe it's entirely an act. Not after seeing Jacen with her.

But how do you talk about feelings with your sister-in-law?]

I think I might know what you're talking about.
But, try?

[dathomiri]

[ An even longer pause. Feelings are hard, okay. ]

I am becoming concerned when he is with other women. I had thought that I have prepared myself for that eventuality, but it is more difficult than I expected.

I also believe he cares more about Allana than he does me. Understandably so, of course. But I simply did not anticipate that it would hurt.

[vaderfan]

[Other people's feelings aren't any easier, though. It takes him a minute. He's not sure who's side he's even on, here. And he's not convinced he's impartial, either.]

Tenel Ka I'm gonna let you in on a little secret.
Jace is an idiot.
He means well. He has the best of intentions most of the time but he's really really dumb.
He doesn't realize when something's right in front of him.
He probably thinks you only barely tolerate him, that he has no chance of anything more than this political arrangement.
Tell him how you feel.
Otherwise he'll never pick up on it.

Admittedly it's been a few years since we were very close but he used to fall in love with every girl that smiled at him.
Plus you gave him a daughter.
Chances are he's already at least half in love with you.

[dathomiri]

[ It's a shame this conversation isn't happening in person because Ben just might've seen Tenel Ka smile. ]

Is this what brothers do?
He has described you in nearly the exact same fashion. Except, perhaps, that you ignored every girl that smiled at you.

[ His mention of a daughter, however, gives her pause. For a moment she hesitates, unsure whether she should disclose the information... but then again, what doesn't he know by now? He's been privy to everything she knows and is, by virtue of his job. That and he's Jacen's brother. ]

I asked for a child, Ben. It was his part of the bargain.
An heir, in exchange for a fleet.

[vaderfan]

[And she would've heard Ben's sardonic laugh.]

Call each other idiots and insult their skills with women? Yeah, that's what brothers do.

And Allana might not have been Jacen's idea, but I'm certain he wouldn't give her up for anything.

[dathomiri]

You are fortunate. It is lonely to be an only child. Rey is the closest I have to a sister, but we neither speak of nor do things the way you and Jacen do.

[ For one thing, she does not share Rey's love for porgs. ]

I know he won't. She means too much to him, that much is clear.

I will heed your advice, Ben. However, I must say it is a most difficult thing. How do you put into words the enormity of your feelings?

[vaderfan]

I don't.

I know that's not helpful, but Snoke and the First Order had no time for feelings that weren't blind rage and hate.

And Jace doesn't help. He'll pick at things until you've told him more than you want to.

[dathomiri]

That I understand, more than you know.

[ As Queen Mother, she has no time feelings, either. At least, not publicly. Because feelings can be dangerous. They can be used against you, and in a system with a political environment as cutthroat as Hapes, they can be a liability. ]

Perhaps that is his way of helping.

[ A beat, and then: ] Has he been giving you trouble? About Rey?

[vaderfan]

That depends.

Has he been talking to Rey?

[Because let's be real, as flustered and moody as Jacen can make him, it's nothing compared to the dread that he'll try to play match maker and end up scaring Rey off.]

[dathomiri]

They are always talking.

[ There might be a hint of jealousy there. ]

[vaderfan]

[Oh, he gets that jealousy. Not just at the irrational thought that Jacen would sweep her off her feet, but also something more basic. Jealousy at the ease with which they talk.]

Then yes.

[dathomiri]

He tells me of your interest in her.
How strange that he can see that, yet he remains oblivious to the interest others have for him.

[ She can't even say she means herself. ]

[vaderfan]

Seems to run in the family.

[He's just not... gonna engage that first comment. Sorry, TK.]

[dathomiri]

[ As if you aren't obvious, Ben. She might have smiled, faintly amused. ]

So it would seem.
I will speak to him, but I do not know if he can stop himself from interfering in your affairs.

[vaderfan]

Wouldn't be Jace if he wasn't meddling.

[A long suffering sigh belongs with that statement. It takes him a while to continue, but he does eventually volunteer:]

I can speak to him about your situation, if you prefer.

[dathomiri]

Would you rather that he not care?

[ Oh what she’d give for Jace to bother her. Although, on second thought... he does keep cracking those lame jokes of his. Every morning at breakfast, and every night before bed. Could it mean...?

Ben’s offer, though, snaps her out of her musings. ]

You would do that?

[vaderfan]

[So many lines of conversation he's just not going to touch because what the hell are feelings anyway?

TK, one day you will understand that persistent lame jokes = declarations of love.]

Yes.

In spite of his attempts to 'help' me with women in the past, I don't enjoy watching my brother defeat himself in his own endeavors.

[dathomiri]

[ Ben’s revealed so much of himself and his relationship with Jace just from that one line, and TK is pleased. Perhaps just not visibly so. ]

Thank you.

It seems I shall be in your debt yet again, Ben Solo.

[vaderfan]

The debt remains mine.