Title: Gungans are Green, Twi'leks can be Blue…
Author: ginchy
Timeline: post-NJO
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, but I certainly love them.
Characters: Luke, Mara, Ben
Notes: Family fun and sweetness. Written for the TF.N SJRS February 'Putting Romance into Everyday Life' Challenge. My 'chore' to romance up was 'changing the sheets'. Thanks to JediMara77 for looking this over! Oh, I also plagiarized myself at one point, so if something seems familiar, I gave myself permission. ;o)
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Luke blinked his eyes open to find Mara sitting up on her side of the bed tapping at her datapad. She paused and took a sip of caf from her travel mug.
"Where's mine?" He cleared his throat and sat up in bed next to her. "What time is it?"
"Yours is still in the pot," Mara said, eyeing him over the rim of her mug as she took another sip. "And it's time for good little Jedi Masters to be up and into their robes."
"Oh, good." Luke flopped back down onto the bed and covered his eyes with his arm. "Since I'm not a 'good little Jedi Master' I can sleep in."
He had only a moment of silence before Mara poked his ribs. "It's too early for jokes. Get up, Luke. We have too much to do today. Ben has to be to class by 0650 and he's probably still asleep. It's also Sweetheart's Day and I'm sure he's supposed to take something to class with him. You have three meetings and four classes and I have…." She looked at her datapad again. "Too much to do. Plus we never cleaned the dishes last night, you didn't fold that last load of towels and these sheets need changing." She tugged at the sheet around his body to make her point.
Luke made a face. "It's too early for jokes but not too early for schedules and cleaning?"
Mara glared at him and gestured with her mug toward the 'fresher. "Get ready, Jedi."
"That's what you said last night, Master Jade-Skywalker," Luke said coolly, grabbing her hand and lifting it and the mug to his mouth to take an awkward sip. She snatched her caf back with a barely concealed half-smile. He grinned back. "See, never too early for jokes."
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Ben had his usual morning crises at the breakfast table. Luke saw Mara barely conceal an eye roll as the seven year old broke into a whine. He tried to think back over his childhood to remember Aunt Beru's reaction to his whining. Maybe now he knew why she seemed to turn her back a lot.
"I forgot to do my Sweetheart's Day cards," Ben moaned, pushing his nausages around on his plate. "And everyone else will have theirs."
"It was your responsibility to remember them," Mara said, her voice gentle in spite of her earlier eye roll. "But I'm sure that if you ask nicely your father will help you with them."
Luke's head shot up. "Me?" he mouthed at Mara who, again, rolled her eyes and gave him an exasperated look. But she stepped in between the two of them and ruffled their hair. "Your dad is the one with more Sweetheart's Day experience."
A smirk broke out on his wife's face as she eyed the two of them, and Luke figured he and Ben were probably wearing the same disgruntled look.
"Look, I'll fold the towels for you," Mara said.
"So, Ben, where is the construction flimsy?" Luke stood to grab the art supplies, kissing Mara's check as she shook her head and passed, headed for the laundry room. He checked the chrono. "We only have thirty minutes. How many kids are in your class?"
"Ten."
Luke sighed and handed Ben the craft supplies. He picked up the scissors and started cutting a heart from one piece of garish pink paper. "What do you want to say on your cards?"
Ben's little face screwed up. "How about… 'Gungans are green, Twi'leks can be blue, Sweetheart's Day is stupid and so are you'?"
A beat of silence passed as Luke looked at his son over the heart he was cutting out. "You really are your mother's son, aren't you?"
Ben grinned. "Yeah!"
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After convincing Ben that he didn't want to call his friends stupid, Luke helped him to finish the cards and painstakingly labeled all of them. The last card came out a bit misshapen, the heart more of a lump than anything else and Luke stuck it into his robe pocket as he ushered his son out the door. He called out to Mara, still in the laundry room, that they were leaving and received a nudge of acknowledgement through their bond.
He dropped Ben off at class, handing him the Sweetheart's Day cards when Ben ran in without them. Ben flickered his fingers in either a gesture of 'good-bye' or 'shoo'. Luke decided to go with the first option, though he feared it was probably actually the second. After that he headed to his meetings, putting away anything but his role as Jedi Master, easily diffusing the hot-heads on the Council as they discussed new training programs, facilities and budget.
He passed Mara in the hall as she dashed to her first class of the day and he to his second. He smiled at her as they met and passed. They never touched physically but their proximity allowed their bond to fuse them together for that eternal second in a refreshing burst of feeling. Both kept walking, never looking back.
The next two classes passed quickly, but he found himself dragging as he headed for his last class. This one was with teenage adepts, a course on deep meditation. But when he walked in he found that the class felt electric in the Force, twitchy and full of nervous excitement. He hid a smile. Sweetheart's Day.
He walked to the front of the room. "Meditation is important. You all know that. And I trust that you'll be here with me in two days, at our next class meeting, to prove that. But for now—class dismissed. Have fun."
He smiled and nodded at the chorus of thanks and the feeling of light happiness in the Force. And then he pushed himself up and headed home.
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After a quick comm to a take-out service, he checked the chrono and found that Mara and Ben would be home soon. He emptied the dish recycler and put the dishes away. All too often the plates stayed in there, almost as if that were their cabinet. He knew Mara hated that, but it couldn't be helped. Not with their schedules. He made quick work of cleaning up the kitchen and dining room table, the Force adding a lending hand. He deemed it necessary use of the Force. After all, balance to the Force was essential and a happy Mara definitely balanced his Force.
The door slid open and Mara and Ben barged in. "…and she kissed my cheek!" Ben groaned as he walked through the door behind his mother. "It was wet and gross!"
"Remember that for a few more years, please," Mara said, tossing her bag onto the clean table. Her eyes widened as she looked around at the sparkling table and kitchen counters.
Just then, the door bell buzzed. Mara's eyebrow raised.
"Take-out," Luke said, in answer to her unasked question.
She moved faster than he could actually see, grabbing his face and pulling him down into a brain-melting kiss. He ignored Ben's cries of "gross!" and pulled her in closer. 'I love you' she seemed to say through their bond, the relief and happiness at something so simple making his heart ache gladly.
"I love you," he said aloud as they parted. He ruffled Ben's hair as he went past to answer the door and get their meal. "And you, too, son."
Ben stuck out his tongue and gagged, but through the Force Luke could feel his happiness. Mara's sense in the Force was bright, too, rejuvenated, it seemed, by a meal that was ready and a clean house.
He paid the bill and took the meal to the table where Ben was already seated and Mara was setting out plates. The clinking of dishes was always a sound that made him feel at home, and he suspected his own sense in the Force was radiating happiness. He smiled at Mara as she passed him a plate and she shook her head, a smirk on her lips.
"Here," Ben said as he and Mara finally took their seats. "I made you these." He sounded almost embarrassed by it.
"Thank you," Luke said, opening his card. He laughed at Ben's scribbled note. 'Gungans are green, Twi'leks can be blue, Sweetheart's Day is still stupid, but I love you'.
Mara's eyes looked a bit damp as she read her card, but she quickly took a sip of her drink to hide it. "Thank you, Ben," she said, as she placed her glass down. "I love you, too."
"I know." Ben grinned mischievously. "I'm so loveable."
Mara rolled her eyes, but was smiling. She tapped her son's hand. "Sometimes."
Luke grinned at his family. Sweetheart's Day was shaping up pretty nicely.
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Ben was finally asleep after three rounds of "But I'm not ready for bed" antics. Luke headed down the hall to his own bedroom, entering just as Mara exited from the fresher.
"That kid wears me out," she said, throwing pillows from the bed onto the floor. She took Luke's robe off the bed and threw it at him.
"What are you doing?" Luke caught the robe and felt something in the pocket. He didn't have time to investigate as Mara spoke.
"I'm baking a cake, Farmboy. Really?" She stripped the fitted sheet from the bed.
"I could go and get some icing to liven things up a bit…"
Mara grinned. "Cute."
Luke tossed his robe over his shoulder. "Here, let me help."
"No, you already did your part today. Go on and get ready for bed. I've got it."
He nodded his thanks and headed into the 'fresher. He threw his robe over the counter, and fished into the pocket, pulling out Ben's misshapen Sweetheart's Day card. With a grin he reached into his other pocket and pulled out a pen.
After getting ready for bed, he left the room to find Mara lying on her side in bed, her head snuggled up on his pillow. He climbed into the fresh sheets and gathered her into his arms. He kissed her behind the ear. "Happy Sweetheart's Day," he murmured and handed her the card.
"What's this?" She laughed at the misshapen heart. "This looks like something naughty," she said, holding it upside down.
Luke laughed at her. "I never claimed to be an artist. Just read it."
She turned the heart over and read it aloud. 'Gungans are green, Twi'leks can be blue… It's Sweetheart's Day and I'm hot for you."
"You are?" Luke grinned widely. "Why Master Jade-Skywalker, I had no idea!"
Mara swatted at him. "You set me up!"
"I did… I guess now you'll have to punish me." Luke nuzzled her neck, kissing her pulse point. He knew that drove her wild.
Mara moaned and moved her neck to give him more access. She trailed her fingers down his chest. "Get ready, Jedi…"
He was.