This is set immediately after VotF.
And I had no one beta this, so if it's all mistakeful -- (like that), mea culpa, and sorry in advance.
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Luke eased the lever forward and the starlines resolved themselves back into individual pinpricks of light as they dropped out of hyperspace on the edge of the Nirauan system.
"So where to?" he asked the slim redhead in the pilot's seat.
"Artoo says the nearest New Republic base is Adumar," Mara informed him, beginning to plot a course.
Alarm bells went off in Luke's head. "No!"
Mara looked at him strangely. "What's wrong, Skywalker?"
Luke looked uncomfortable for a moment, a frown creasing his forehead. "Wedge told me about that place. They're..." Luke hesitated, finally settling on a helpless, embarrassed shrug. "They're weird."
Mara's amusement flared through their bond. "Really. 'Weird', eh? Well, we would certainly never go anywhere 'weird', would we, farmboy? We leave that stuff for Rogue Squadron, right?" Mara snorted and continued calculating the jump.
"Mara..."
"Skywalker." Mara turned from the console and turned a pointed gaze on him. "I'm tired. I'm hungry. I'm dirty, which means I smell. You stink. We both stink really bad. We need new clothes because we are going to burn these as soon as possible, and we could probably use a looking over from a medical droid, just to be safe." She ignored Luke's grimace and cut off his no-doubt-imminent denial about needing a med droid. "Does this place have showers?"
Luke studied his boots.
"Well?"
"Yes," he mumbled.
"Do they have food?"
"Yes."
"Do they have medical facilities to treat injuries, or do they just shoot the wounded?"
Luke sighed. "They have medical facilities, Mara, but we don't need them. We can just use the - "
"Clothing shops?"
With a defeated groan, Luke nodded.
"Then that's where we're going. Strap in."
"Fine," he grumped, reluctantly readying himself for the jump to hyperspace, "but I'm not dueling some native for my dinner."
Mara laughed as hyperspace took them once again.
It shouldn't have been awkward. It was pure, utter silliness that two adults, friends for ten years, and newly engaged to boot, would feel anything but comfort with each other in silence. Yet Mara found herself floundering for words once they were safely on their way.
Judging by the way the man beside her was fidgeting, she wasn't the only one having trouble finding her voice. What do I say now? After so much had happened, after all they had been through in the past few days, this was their first real quiet moment, and with so much to talk about Mara found herself scowling at her sudden loss of vocabulary.
"So." Luke's hushed, conversational tone cut into the silence, immediately dispelling the inexplicable cloud of uneasiness.
Mara smiled to herself. Count on Luke. "So," she echoed companionably.
Luke took her hand in his and began rubbing his thumb across her knuckles. "What do you recommend to pass the time?" The suggestive quality to Luke's voice told Mara what his recommendation would be, and a sudden flood of heat coursed through her body, erasing any trace of awkwardness. Judging by the small smile on Luke's face he felt it, too.
Mara pulled her hand from his and raised her eyebrow. "A hibernation trance?" she suggested coolly. Ah, familiar territory, with a twist.
Wordlessly, Luke shook his head, and reached for her hand again.
"A healing trance?" she tried, slapping his hand away.
Luke gave her an impish grin, playing along. Persistently, he retrieved her hand, and met her amused gaze with his mischievous one. "Mara," he began, as if speaking to a five-year-old, "Adumar will have medical facilities for that stuff, remember?" He tapped his temple.
Mara's mouth twitched. "Ah, yes." This time he began tracing patterns across her palm, and they both watched. It was getting harder for Mara to pretend disinterest.
"I had something different in mind." Luke looked up and met her eyes directly, all pretense forgotten. Mara's breath caught. She could see amusement, happiness, love, and desire, all reflected in watery sky blue. And when he opened himself to her through the Force she leaned toward him, as if drawn by a magnet. He met her halfway and brushed her lips with the softest, warmest, sweetest kiss she'd ever felt, melting her barriers like a heat wave on Hoth.
Too soon, Luke pulled back, tucking a stray strand of fire behind her ear. His eyes twinkled as he stared at her. "Shall we go into that healing trance now?"
"Mmm," she murmured distantly. "Let's go with your idea."
Luke grinned. "That's the Mara Jade I know. Practical, calm, businesslike -"
"Shut up and kiss me, farmboy, or you really will need a healing trance."
And without further ado, Luke did just that.