1. I wrote this for prix_etoile, because she's been having a rotten time lately. :|

Title: Oh, Inverted World
Rating: G
Characters: Allana, Jacen, TKKKK
Notes: This is really corny, and I'm not going to apologize. ♥



Jacen's fingers rap on her door.

"Allana."

His voice is soft and non-judgemental.

"Allana, open the door. Please."

She sniffles and hugs the pillow closer to her chest. She used to clutch Jacen the tauntaun, but she's not a baby. She's ten years old, a big girl, and definitely doesn't need some dumb old toy.

(Except for when she does.)

"Allana," there's a genuine tinge of sadness to his voice now.

Allana slips off the bed and straightens her gown. Her steps toward the door are intentionally slow; she doesn't want him to have the joy of knowing how much his concern means to her.

Her arms cross over her chest as she opens the bedroom door.

"Yes?" She doesn't want him to know how excited she is to see him after almost half a year. Her button nose wrinkles in feigned annoyance.

"I--" Jacen nervously rubs the back of his neck with his hand. He sighs, taking a deep breath, and his shoulders slump. Then he pulls out a package from his robes. "Congratulations, Allana. Your tutors won't stop raving over you."

Oh, she's always been good at hiding her expression, but she still keeps her head down as she gently opens the box. And at this, her eyes bulge open. It's an emerald gem set on a silver ring with Dathomiri writings gently sculpted along the base and the stone, criss-crossing over each component.

She slips it on her finger, biting her lower lip. "It's Teneniel's, isn't it?"

Jacen's nervousness doesn't abade as he nods. "Your mother and I found it last year. We thought it'd be perfect for..." his voice trails off. "I'm sorry it's late."

A graduation ceremony in the Hapan palace is a lonely event; it's even lonelier when the tiny princess being promoted to the next grade doesn't even have her father present. It'd be nice if she wasn't the only student, too.

"It's beautiful," she says quietly. "But you didn't have to get me anything. I just wish you'd been here."

Jacen starts to say something. She shakes her head.

"You don't have to explain. I understand."

He sighs. "You shouldn't have to understand, Allana. You deserve--" he stops again. "You wanted me here. I said I'd come, and I'm late. I missed the whole party."

"You and Ben got called away," she's consoling him now as if she's the parent, but in all of their extended families, this isn't that uncommon. "I was mad. I'm still mad. But it's not your fault."

In the Force, she can tell how much he wants to embrace her. She takes his hand into her own, and smiles.

"Thank you for the gift, Jedi Jacen. I love it." They both break out into a grin, because she hasn't called her father by that name in almost six years. He picks her up, and her copper hair fans over his shoulders. Jacen gently rocks her back and forth.

"So, are you excited for the summer?"

She wraps her arms around his neck even tighter. "It'd be better if I could come to Coruscant."

He smoothes the hair back off her forehead. "Things aren't so good right now, princess. You know that."

"It's just a trip, Daddy." Allana signals to be put down. She leads them back into her bedroom, and hops up onto her bed. "I don't have to stay. I just.... I miss everyone."

Jacen's small, scratchy beard needs to be trimmed. He looks out of place amongst the pink frills and blankets. "I know. Your family wants to see you again, too. They ask me about you all the time. Especially Aunt Mara."

Silence overtakes them and he melodramatically flops down on her bed. Allana rolls her eyes, still smiling.

"We'll talk to your mother about it," he finally says. She screeches and jumps up and down on her bed, eventually misplanting a foot on her father's stomach. He lets out an "oof" and stands up again, placing her on top of his shoulders.

"Let's go find her," Jacen spins around in a circle. Allana continues to giggle. "We'll go get some dessert, too-- ahhh!"

Allana cups her hands over his eyes. "I can't see!" Her father gasps. "Oh, Force! Allana! Help me!"

Her shrieks reach an all-time high and when her cheeks start to burn from joy, she takes a deep breath and stops. "I love you, Daddy."

Jacen squeezes her ankles. "Love you too, Allana."

In the Palace kitchen, there's only one slice of pie left. Tenel Ka lets them split it, claiming to have never cared for that variety. (She's the Queen. She's a good liar.)



2. I need a new phone. My main phone is a tiny Verizon pre-paid deal with as much memory as a keychain calculator. I want something with a keyboard because I text people more than I call, and using numbers to compose messages is irritating. It's never fast enough and I type like a motherfucker. But eugh. Money.

3. I've been in a funk lately because school is going fine in the long-run, but right now, I'm taking my math and science requirements and I feel like such a dumbass. I think I'm probably going to fail Algebra at midterms. I keep making the silliest of mistakes.

I mean, I've always spent my weekends at school, but now things seem like they've changed for some reason. For the first time since I started college, my lack of a life is starting to bother me. Okay, there's worse things I could be doing all the time other than school, but I think I'm starting to get jealous of my friends who actually get to have weekends. I've felt lonelier than usual lately.

Maybe I need to eat more apples.