Disclaimer: Absolutely not mine.

Rating: Hasn't changed. M.


Luke silently paced the floors of Karrde's room, his thoughts swirling like the winds on Vortex. He barely noticed the slowly setting suns through the window as he tried time and time again to calm himself. But just when he felt at peace, his hurt over Mara's rejection would wash over him, upsetting the balance in his mind and increasing his ire in how he could not control his emotions.

He stopped and stood in the middle of the room and gave voice to his frustrations. "Mara makes me crazy."

He said it again, louder this time, running his fingers through his hair. "Mara Jade makes me crazy!"

Then he laughed at himself, letting the tension finally ease from his brain. Yes, she did make him crazy. She didn't make things easy for him at all. But she never had, so why should today be any different?

He studied the neatly folded pile of clothing he'd placed on top of Karrde's dresser. Mara was right, there were clothes for him in the other room. He had bathed again in the somewhat opulent refresher connected to this room and was currently wearing an olive-brown jumpsuit. He had even found a comfortable pair of black boots in fairly good condition. Boots that were, until recently, trying to wear a hole in Karrde's bedroom's carpet.

Luke settled himself on the bed and tried to analyze his situation. Fact: Mara didn't want to share a bedroom. Ouch. Another fact: Mara said that change was hard for her. No clue why. Third fact: Mara also didn't appear comfortable with him lusting after her like a rutting bantha. This one he could understand, and ruled it out as a non-weighting factor in his analysis.

That left the other two – and in a burst of insight Luke realized he was asking her to change. How could he have been blind to this? She was a loner. Of course cohabitation would be a problem for her. She had always been this way; she'd said multiple times on Nirauan how she purposely distanced herself from people. Her fierce independence was a part of who she was, a part she wanted to change but nevertheless, as Luke knew, old habits died hard.

What a frappin' fool he'd been. He now considered himself lucky that she hadn't outright rejected his proposal and tossed him out onto the streets of Mrisst. She did make him crazy – he had been so blinded by his own happy ideas of their life together that he'd completely forgotten about who she was. Regret and dismay pulsed through him. Once again, he'd been distracted and put his own needs first, the very thing he needed to stop in order to stay off any paths to the dark side. Shaking his head, he vowed to give her space and time she needed.

His stomach rumbled. Perhaps they could dine out tonight. He'd ask and see. He would apologize too – he was the one that overreacted, not her.

He left the bedroom, sensing for her. She wasn't in her room – he found her in the main living area, silently staring out the window. The last rays of the larger second sun were splintering across the horizon, casting the room in a dark orange glow. He stopped just beyond the entryway into the main room, transfixed on her image in the waning light. Her hair was tarnished copper, freshly combed and falling casually down her back. The strong yet elegant lines of her profile were clear against the auburn haze of the sheer curtains behind her. She was wearing one of her standard jumpsuits he'd seen her in thousands of times. It didn't matter – his breath caught in his throat anyway. She was beautiful.

"Wow."

She turned, her senses reaching out to touch his mind. "Hey," she called softly.

"Hey," he replied. His stomach betrayed him, rumbling again loudly.

"Hungry?" she asked.

"Yes. That's what I wanted to talk with you about." Among other things. "Do you want to go get something to eat?"

A soft whistling chortle came from where Mara was standing. Artoo was there with her by the window, and if Luke didn't know better, the little droid was laughing at him.

"Artoo, come over here. Don't bother Mara."

"No," Mara said. "He's fine. We were watching the suns set."

Had she been talking to his droid? That was unlike her. She tolerated Artoo but wasn't exactly enamored with him. He'd have to ask him later what Mara wanted. For now, he needed to apologize to her. And eat. Eating was fast becoming a priority.

"Mara, I want to let you know I'm sorry for earlier today. And yesterday. I…I've realized I've been unfair to you."

She was facing him now, her features hidden in the shadows of the last rays of the setting sun. He continued, "I don't want to pressure you to move faster than you are comfortable. It was wrong of me to be upset with you and I apologize."

"You figured it out," she said softly. "You understand."

"Yes. I did and yes, I do. I…wasn't thinking clearly. I'm sorry."

She walked to him and placed her hand on his shoulder, her touch warming his skin. "Thank you," she smiled at him. "I didn't know how to explain it to you. But thank you."

His heart cheered, and then his stomach growled. "I think it's time we went for food." He extended his arm. "Shall we go?"

"Sure, why not?"

~~~~/*\*/*\*/*\~~~~

The streets of Mrisst were ominous at night. Luke found himself frequently reaching out with the Force, scanning for any signs of danger.

Mara nudged him. "Relax. Not all darkness is evil. Sometimes it's just due to a lack of daylight. Besides, you're with me, remember? I'm the one with the stronger danger sense and I'm the one that knows this space port."

Luke scowled. She was right. Reason #53 of why Mara drives me nuts.

Mara chuckled softly. "You're numbering the reasons why I drive you insane?"

Whoops. "You weren't supposed to hear that."

"You'd better work on that mental barrier of yours, otherwise I'm going to know all your deepest secrets."

"You already do," he said casually.

She stopped short for a second, and he continued along the pathway, humming quietly to himself.

Mara caught up with him quickly and they walked in companionable silence to the small tapcafe she'd recommended. Once inside, she helped him with the menu - as it was in a language Luke couldn't even begin to decipher, even with the help of the Force. They'd ordered lighter fare and drinks, both agreeing that dining on rich food and consuming alcohol after weeks of ration bars might not be the best idea.

The café was crowded but fortunately for Luke, they'd received their food quickly from their waitress, a bubbly young Twi'lek. He attacked his meal with gusto, making Mara laugh. She teased him, calling him a starving farm boy. It was pleasant and casual; Luke found he genuinely enjoyed Mara's company. Time passed and soon they were one of the few patrons left in the tapcafe. They were about to leave when Luke felt a ripple in the Force. He looked up from his drink and met Mara's eyes. She sensed it too and looked very quickly to her right and back again.

Casually, Luke shifted his gaze and noticed two beings, a young-looking Niktos and a teenaged human boy sitting at a table off in the far corner, empty plates and glasses in front of them. They were dressed in shabby, non-descript clothes and had an air of recklessness about them.

"What are you getting from them?" he whispered quietly to Mara.

"Young. Bored. Edgy. I think they're planning on robbing the place." She paused and he sensed her reach out to the two teens again. "One has a blaster."

"And you said there was nothing to fear on Mrisst," he chided her.

"No," she replied in an even tone, "I said not all darkness was evil. There's plenty to fear on Mrisst. The Trade and Science Academy takes in underprivileged kids from across the galaxy and cleans them up. Our friends over there," she gestured slightly with her head, "are most likely new recruits breaking curfew for a night on the town. They'll be reprimanded when we return them to the Academy."

"We?"

"You see anyone else in here that is qualified for the job?"

Then he sensed it, the subtle shift in the Niktos' mind, the decision to act. He rose automatically, and with a polite "Pardon me a second" to Mara, he walked over towards them.

Wait there, he told her through the Force. I'll handle this.

The young Niktos was rising from his seat when Luke calmly blocked his path and asked, "Isn't it past your curfew?" The Niktos sat down with a scowl.

"What's it to you?" sneered the teenage boy. Luke noted his hair was damp – with sweat or from lack of bathing, he couldn't quite tell.

Luke continued in an even tone. "I couldn't help notice how late it was, and it's obvious you two have decided to break curfew from the Academy tonight. If you come with me now, my companion and I will take you back and perhaps you won't be reprimanded too harshly." He felt Mara's eyes on him, but returned his focus to the task at hand.

"We don't care about you or yourr companion," the Niktos growled in passable Basic. "We have plans tonight. Leave beforre you get hurrt." The Niktos pulled the blaster from his jacket and jerked in surprise when it was immediately yanked from his grasp and pinned to the ceiling.

"Whoa!" the boy exclaimed. "What the frack was that? Who the frack are you, man?"

"Someone you shouldn't trifle with," Luke said firmly, making direct eye contact with both teens. He gestured to the door. "I think it's time for you to leave."

Luke felt the ripple of rage in the Force. An instant later the Niktos lunged towards him. Luke deftly moved to the side and stuck out his left foot, effectively tripping the Niktos and causing him to fall flat on his snout.

"R'hook, let's get outta here," the boy told his friend, who was sputtering in his native language and scrabbling to his knees on the dirty tapcafe floor. "I don't think we should mess with this guy. Let's just go back." He turned to Luke. "We'll go. We don't want any trouble."

"I'm afraid I must insist we accompany you back to the Academy. My companion and I want to ensure that you'll not cause any further problems tonight."

The Niktos snarled as he finally righted himself again. "We arre not childrren. We do not need baby sitterr."

Luke made a point of studying the pair. "You're a little old for baby sitters, aren't you?"

"Yes," the Niktos snapped. "That's why you should have left us alone."

"But," Luke replied calmly, "then you would have robbed these nice people who provided you with such a lovely meal. Why would you want to do that?"

"How'd you know we was going to rob the place?" The teen boy gaped at Luke. "R'hook, this guy is some kind of telepath or something. I don't wanna mess with him. Let's go."

"Fool!" R'hook cuffed his friend, knocking the boy from his chair. "He is Jedi." R'hook pointed. "See his weapon? Lightsaberr."

"Very wise, R'hook. I am a Jedi and this is my lightsaber. I'd prefer not to use it tonight, so again, I ask you, are you ready to return with us to the Academy?"

Luke's hand shifted towards his lightsaber instinctively as he sensed the Niktos' rage double in intensity. R'hook noticed the movement immediately and froze. Luke sensed the alien waiver - to attack or not? Luke waited to see what R'hook would decide, fighting back his growing urge to gently guide him with the Force and diffuse the situation. A few seconds passed and the young Niktos' shoulders drooped with resignation.

"I'll not fight you, Jedi. We will returrn with you to Academy."

The teen boy was still sitting on the floor, staring at his friend and Luke. Luke offered him a hand and helped him to his feet.

"That was something," the teen told him. "R'hook isn't one for backing down from a fight." The boy looked up at the ceiling, pointing to the blaster still pinned there. "Are you going to give us that back?"

"What do you think?"

"Yeah, probably not."

As Luke felt the tension in the tapcafe disperse, he became aware of the others around him, watching him. The tapcafe's owner, their bubbly Twi'lek server, and of course Mara, who was studying him with a bemused half-smile on her face.

He suggested subtly for her to come over. He wanted her to take the blaster and he needed her help to get these two young miscreants home. He had no idea where the Academy was.

She grinned and bumped his shoulder when she reached his side. "Never a dull moment with you, is it?" she murmured.

"Well, maybe not. Although really, most days I am rather boring."

She laughed. "Skywalker, you couldn't be boring if you tried."

She looked up and with an unspoken understanding, Luke released the blaster from his Force grip, allowing her to pluck it from the ceiling and float it down to her hand.

The Niktos snorted in surprise and the teen boy was utterly shocked. "Whoaa…she's one too R'hook! They're both Jedi!"

Mara shot Luke a knowing glance. "C'mon boys," she gestured with the blaster. "Time to go home."

~~~~/*\*/*\*/*\~~~~

After they'd dropped off R'hook and the boy, whose name turned out to be Leon, at the Trade and Science Academy, Luke and Mara quickly and quietly found their way back to Karrde's apartment. Both were on alert the entire time, despite Mara's previous statements.

"It's late now," she'd told him when he'd teased her about it. "There's an ugly element that comes out late at night in space ports. Don't ask me why, just be on the lookout."

Once inside the turbolift, Mara finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was some date, Skywalker. You sure know how to show a girl a good time."

She sensed his confusion instantly. "Date?" he countered. "That was a date?"

"Well, what else would you call it? Two people - going out, having dinner, stopping petty criminals, meeting the local law enforcement. You know, standard typical date, right?"

"Mara," he said evenly. "That was not a date. When we go out on a date, you will know."

"Oh? Tell me how I'll know."

"For one," he countered, "we'll be a lot closer." He stepped towards her in the turbolift, invading her personal space.

"Second," he said as the lift chimed and the door opened, "I'll escort you." He placed his left hand along the small of her back and did indeed escort her through the turbolift doors and down the hallway to the apartment. A small chill rippled along Mara's spine.

"Third," he whispered, his breath warm and tickling against her ear as she punched in the key codes, "there will be no interruptions."

Mara couldn't stop the shiver that raced over her skin.

"Finally," he said, turning her to face him after they'd walked through the door, "there will be a lot more of this happening." Before she could blink, he took her face in his hands and kissed her.

This kiss was nothing like their kiss in the cave. That kiss was filled with love, caring, compassion and joy that they both had survived a near-death experience and had finally come to an understanding after years of miscommunication and misunderstandings.

This one – it flared with desire and passion, yet was tempered with restraint and respect. His mouth moved against hers, his hands gently tangled in her hair. She placed her hands against his chest and felt the warmth and strength of him beneath the soft fabric. Her head was starting to spin, and she was enthralled with the sensation, intrigued that he was the one causing it.

He broke away, those clear, bright blue eyes of his penetrating hers as he quietly said, "That's how you will know."

He kissed her softly on her forehead and then walked quietly to his room. She felt his voice touch her mind as she watched him leave her standing there, dizzy with arousal. Goodnight, Mara.