Twilight set on the Jedi Grand Master as he walked on the Fijis wood balcony of his vacation home. Five full moons shined brightly on the crystal blue-green waters making the foam crested waves sparkle as they came in to shore.
"Mara..." Luke thought as he sat on the edge of the railing that surrounded the balcony.
She had loved this place. Everywhere Luke looked there was his beloved's influence. From the location and the house itself to what was inside. It all had been Mara's. She had had it built a few years ago. A place where Luke could be a farmboy and Mara could be well, Mara. A place that his best friend had created just for the two of them. No one knew of this place. Not even Ben. Luke shook his head. Ben. He really didn't like being at odds with his son. Although it was true that with the death of his wife his relationship with his son was getting better, it was by no means fixed. They still had a long, long way to go. So long that Luke wondered if he and Ben would ever really be at peace.
Luke bit back a laugh. His relationship with his son sort of reminded him of the relationship he and Mara had when they'd first met. He had been forced to work hard on that relationship too. Winning Mara Jade's respect, friendship, and then heart had been no easy task and neither would be getting her son's. Yes. Her son not theirs. There was no doubt about it, Ben was Mara's son. Now that she was gone... Luke stared at the swirling liquid in his glass and sighed. Maybe what Ben had said earlier was right. It probably was the alpha male thing that set him and his son at odds. Both wanting and fighting to be the number one male in Mara Jade's life. However, when it came to Mara, Ben had his father beaten in spades. Almost everything that Mara had done in the past 14 years had nearly always been for Ben or at least about him. She had hunted down Lumiya and had ultimately gone to her death for him. She had fought Luke, her best friend, her confidant, her husband on his opinion about Jacen and allowing Ben further association with him and GAG. The boy had worshiped the ground his mother walked on and loved her very much. And she had loved him just as much if not more.
Since Mara's sudden death Luke had often wondered what Mara's last thoughts had been. Where they of him or Ben. Probably Ben. Luke thought darkly as surges of jealousy ran quickly throughout his veins. Realizing that he was walking a little too close to the dark side yet again Luke quickly shut the feelings of jealousy down. He wasn't jealous of his son, quite the opposite in fact he was... Luke sighed. He was disappointed. Disappointed and yes, even a little hurt in the fact that more than likely Mara's last thoughts and words had been of Ben instead of him.
Watching the moonlit surf below Luke remembered that just two months ago he had held Mara on that beach. The cool surf sloshing around their feet. She hadn't been thinking of Ben then his heart reminded him. As a matter of fact she had been thinking of him and... Luke blushed. He didn't need to be remembering that for it hurt too much. Mara had always been the practical one in their relationship. She'd be able to turn off her personal feelings and do what had to be done but he, on the other hand couldn't. Luke was in agony. Throwing one last look at the moonlit beach below Luke finished his drink, stepped into the house, and the door slid closed behind him.