This Kiss

A/N1: I have all respect for Timothy Zahn, he is by far my favorite Star Wars author, I just felt that Luke and Mara's first kiss (especially after all the tension, and stuff for 10 years!) should have been a little more than just "a kiss"…

A/N 2: I don't own Star Wars…

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And they were together again. Forever.

"Yes," Mara murmured. "Forever."

They loosened their grips on each other, just slightly… and standing together in the cold water, their lips came together in a kiss…

(Vision of the Future, pg 676 paperback version)

Luke could hardly believe that her lips were touching his, and he drank in the soft sweetness of her. Her lips tasted better than the finest and rarest wines in the galaxy. He snaked his hand up to play with her red-gold hair, briefly imagining those locks wrapped around his face as she kissed him from above. And as he remembered that indeed soon she would be doing just that, Luke's heart swelled.

As that thought filled Luke with joy, he felt the sensation carry through to his arms, and suddenly he was picking her up, and she deepened the kiss, pressing against him. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and Luke held her under her bottom, staggering slightly as her weight pushed him backwards. But he recovered quickly, and felt her open her mouth to invite him in.

Luke eagerly accepted, and as they kissed, he played blissfully with her hair, twining it through his fingers. She ran her own fingers through his hair, and Luke moaned in delight. He never wanted this moment to end, because this kiss summed up all the unsaid things, and suppressed tension of their relationship over the past ten years.

He felt her own similar thoughts, and knew that this was just as sweet a victory for Mara.

With great reluctance, and because they were both shivering and soaking wet, they pulled apart. Luke gently set her back down, and rested his head against hers for a moment, breathing heavily. Mara shifted so as to lay her head against his shoulder, and he held her silently.

They embraced each other with the Force, reveling for a moment in their newfound connection. Then Luke felt the practical side of Mara take over, and she pulled from his embrace.

"Not to put a damper on this, but…" She said softly.

"We need to get home." Luke finished, taking her hand in his.