Star Wars: I Love You…

Summary: A Series of Luke/Mara Vignettes. If you have any ideas for another one, please email me at or say in a review.

A Good-Looking Man

"Run, Leia! I'll try to hold them off!" Commander Luke Skywalker shouted as he drew his small, low-power blaster from the inside pocket of his lead-lined vest. "I'll meet you back at the ship! Go!!"

Leia ran down the corridor as fast as her legs would carry her, and Luke threw himself around a corner. Leia and Luke were on a secret mission to contact the Bothan spynet and retrieve information about the Empire's sudden decrease in attacks. Even with hair dye and colored contacts, their mission had failed. They had been recognized or someone had blown their cover, it didn't matter, either way. The Bothans had been murdered and when they arrived at the meeting place, there had been two whole squads of stormtroopers waiting for them.

Those two squads were chasing them now.

Luke cautiously leaned around his corner hiding place, blaster at the ready. He breathed a sigh of relief. They hadn't been found yet.

Luke started to run after Leia. He didn't make it past the first doorway.

The air around him crackled with blue static, and he fell, unfeeling, to the ground, victim to a stun bolt fired at point-blank range.

Emperor's Hand Mara Jade stepped out from her hiding place in what served as the records room of the Coruscant headquarters of the Rebellion. The fleeing Rebel she had brought down was human, so he was obviously one of the two members of High Command that were supposed to be here.

Excellent.

The Emperor would be very pleased.

Mara slowly sauntered up to the fallen Rebel, and not-so-gently flipped him over with her foot. A strikingly handsome face looked up at her, still good looking even with his mouth slightly open. A strong physique, too, and not too tall. Just the way she liked.

Mara's eyebrows rose as she nodded in appreciation. A good-looking man, she mused, looking him over once more. She gave a small half smile of regret as her eyes took in the cute black hair, and strong chin.

He's a Rebel, Mara Jade, she told herself harshly. Snap out of it. She shook her head to clear it and aimed her tiny holdout blaster directly at the man's heart.

"Bye-bye, cute guy," she whispered.

She closed her eyes, squeezed the trigger, and ran.

Luke had been practicing with the remote for almost an hour when he felt his concentration waver. One tiny sting blot got through his shield of light, and connected with his shoulder. A loud cry of pain tore from his lips, and he dropped his lightsaber, clutching at his left shoulder.

"Luke, are you alright?" Luke's wife, Mara, was at his side in an instant, a frown marring her features. "That was supposed to be a stun bolt. It shouldn't have hurt that badly."

"It shouldn't have, you're right," Luke said, still breathing hard and reaching out to the Force to calm his screaming nerves. "The sting just hit my bad shoulder, that's all."

"You have a bad shoulder?" Mara asked, a slight smile on her lips. "You never told me that."

"I never told you a lot of things," Luke replied, smiling back. "I never told you about the time I was on Coruscant trying to contact the Bothan spynet, and somebody blew my cover." Luke gave a slightly embarrassed grin. "I got shot."

"In the shoulder," Mara said, nodding along.

"Exactly."

"How long ago was this?" Mara asked, searching her husband's eyes.

"Oh, about twenty years," Luke replied, reaching for his lightsaber again. "It was maybe a year after I blew up the Death Star."

"A year after the Death Star…" Realization jumped to Mara's face. "Oh, stars! Luke, you'll never believe this."

"What?"

"I'm the one who shot you."

A small laugh escaped Luke's lips, and he shook his head in amazement. "It really is a small galaxy, isn't it?"

"It really is," Mara conceded. She ginned slightly. "I thought you were pretty cute, even then. I thought it was such a pity that you were a Rebel."

Luke laughed, and enveloped his wife in a hug. Mara leaned into his embrace, laughter lighting up her eyes. You don't have to snap out of it now, Mara Jade Skywalker, she told herself. Don't you ever snap out of it.

Luke heard his wife's thought, and grinned.