Luke Skywalker awoke with a start, and briefly wondered if last night had been a dream. A brief glance over to his right answered that question quickly. The still sleeping form of his lover was beside him, and he could say with complete certainty that he had no regrets about what had happened between them. When Mara had died almost a year ago, Luke had been certain that he would never find another woman he loved as much as her. But an impromptu visit to Coruscant by a certain ex-Jedi had made him reconsider. He ran his fingers through her long red-gold hair. Time to see if [italics] she [/italics] had any regrets about the change in their relationship that had transpired.
Queen Mother Tenel Ka was aware of Luke's eyes on her as she came slowly to consciousness.
"What are you staring at?" she asked.
"My beautiful girlfriend," was the reply. For the first time, Luke realized that he could finally describe Tenel Ka this way without the usual twinges of guilt that accompanied the declaration. A lifetime ago, she had been a child, and he had been a married man. Now, though…
"Since you seem so content to stare, the least I could do is give you a close-up," Tenel Ka reasoned as she inched closer to him and drew her arm around his waist. He smiled and kissed her lightly on the forehead.
"You realize of course this arrangement is going to give us nothing but trouble," he said.
"Without a doubt. The Royal House will be outraged by our relationship. Assassination attempts are probably being plotted as we speak."
"And all the Jedi will think I've lost my mind, running off with that ex-Jedi queen from Hapes where men are kept as slaves."
"In that case, perhaps we should just end this right now," she teased.
"Perhaps we should. It's a real shame, though. I would have loved to see the look on my sister's face when we told her the news."
She kissed him before leaving the bed to get dressed and they lapsed into silence for a bit.
"Luke?" she asked finally, trying out the sound of his first name.
"Yes. Your Majesty?"
She cringed at the title. "When I go back to Hapes, what will happen to us?"
Luke thought a moment. A relationship between him and Tenel Ka was all well and good, but the logistics still needed to be worked out. "I'll get some of the other Jedi to help with the academy and I'll visit you on Hapes as much as possible," he offered. It wasn't a perfect arrangement, but it would have to do for now. Tenel Ka nodded her agreement.
"Maybe, down the road a way, I could look into setting up permanent camp on Hapes. You know, get a job as the Queen Mother's bodyguard, become an expert political advisor…"
She cut him off. "Those," she began, "are questions that can be answered later. Down the road a way, as you said."
"And those," he countered, "are my pants."
She looked down at the slacks she had pulled up over her knees. "I packed enough clothes for a three day diplomatic meeting to Coruscant. You were the one who insisted I stay longer. As such, you are responsible for any attire I may be lacking," she argued.
"Well when I asked you to stay with me, I didn't think it meant you would go around wearing my pants all the time," he pouted.
She gave him a rare mischievous grin. "Do you know [italics] anything [/italics] about Hapan women?