Chapter Seven:
Luke could only look on in utter confusion as Mara ran from the hall in a panic, instinctively knowing that he would endure bodily harm if he interrupted her right now.
Luke shook his head sadly and slowly gathered their things, realizing that Mara had left her belt behind. He walked slowly home, reaching out gently for Mara, but she was shielding heavily.
Unwilling to invade her privacy, Luke retracted the probe. He arrived at home to a delicious smelling stew and felt his stomach rumbling in anticipation. Luke took a shower before he went to the kitchen to prepare supper.
He glanced forlornly at his table, which he knew would seem empty and unwelcoming without the fiery red-head sitting there with him.
Luke had a thought, and grabbed a to-go dish he kept around. Filling it with stew, Luke grabbed a roll to go with it, and a bottle of wine. Placing the objects in a small basket with her belt lying atop it, Luke then went to his office and wrote a note on a piece of flimsi.
Minutes later, Luke walked to Mara's apartment. He arrived at the door and hesitated. She was still blocking him, but he could feel the sorrow radiating from her apartment.
Luke knocked on the door and waited. He received no answer, but knew she could feel his presence. Luke opened his mouth to speak, but shook his head helplessly and set the basket on the floor before her door.
He glanced back only once as he entered the turbolift and returned home.
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Mara felt Luke leave and breathed a sigh of relief. She sniffed, still sitting by the door, and paused. She breathed deeply, and frowned as her nose caught the strong aroma of food.
Mara stood and opened the door curiously. On the other side rested a basket… and her equipment belt. She grimaced, having forgotten she'd removed it during class.
Mara gingerly picked up the basket and glanced both ways down the hall to see it empty. She closed the door behind her and moved to her table. Opening the bin, Mara was surprised to find a large bowl of soup, piece of bread, and a bottle of Naboo wine.
And a note.
Mara picked it up and read the hand-written words.
Mara,
I don't know what is going on, I only want to help. Unfortunately, I think that you prefer to do things alone. I'd really love to be there for you, if you need someone to lean on. You can come to me with anything, Mara; you are my best friend after all.
If you still want to do dance class tomorrow I will be in the usual room. If not, I have some exercises I can do.
Mara…I hope I didn't upset you last night. If I did something wrong, please tell me so I can fix it. I don't think I could stand to lose you… at all.
Anyway, I wanted to return your things, as well as bring you the dinner that is as much yours as mine. You helped make it, so you should eat too. Also, this stew has a special power, if you will. My aunt would make it whenever I was sick or feeling down. It will perk you right up. Please enjoy, and have a nice evening.
~Luke
Mara sniffed over the basket and promptly removed the food and ate. She felt the stew settle nicely in her belly and she chased it down with some wine. She settled back in her chair, patting her full stomach happily.
Luke had been right, she mused. The stew did have magical qualities: she felt better already.
Mara felt unexpected tears well up in her eyes, and she swiped at them angrily. The tears reminded her of the onion trick Luke played on her earlier that day, and Mara felt the cold hard edge of vengeance settle in her stomach.
She would be at dance class tomorrow… and Luke would pay dearly for his prank.
A malicious smile slowly crawled across her face: time for a little shopping of her own.
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Luke stretched tight limbs as he waited to see if Mara would show up for dance instruction. He was still confused as to what exactly happened last night, but he was not going to press her too hard about it for fear of driving her farther away.
Luke felt his heart ache for her, even though he didn't understand what was wrong. What he did understand was that Mara was slowly but surely worming her way into his heart.
Or maybe it wasn't as slow a process as he'd thought. He already knew he cared for her, and would do anything for her. But over the course of this week, and perhaps even before that, he realized his feelings for the captivating red head were taking a turn for the deeper.
He was steadily falling in love with Mara Jade.
The only question was did she share such feelings?
Luke was deathly afraid that if he brought up such a subject there would be a repeat of the panic attack from last night, but on a larger scale. If he lost Mara, even just her friendship, he didn't know what he would do.
But another part of him was urging him to risk it. One of Lando Calrissian's favorite sayings came to Luke's mind then:
The bigger the risk you take, the bigger the reward is likely to be.
Luke understood that perfectly. But it was a risk that could either be a positive or a negative… and Luke didn't know if he could survive the negative option from Mara.
The doors opened abruptly, cutting him off in his musings.
Mara strode through with Artoo-Detoo hot on her heels.
"Hey Skywalker, did you think I wouldn't show up?" Mara asked.
Luke studied her, recognizing something in her demeanor.
"Um…," Luke stammered, trying to get his brain to function again. "I wasn't sure, no. Where did you pick Artoo up from?"
"Your place, of course." Mara rolled her eyes. "Here Farmboy, get dressed for class."
Mara tossed a small bag at him, which Luke caught. Curious, he peeked inside… and promptly frowned. He pulled out a strange-looking green tunic and a pair of brown, skin-tight pants.
"Uh, Mara…" he began uncertainly.
He glanced at her to find her smirking smugly.
"Its ballet class today, Skywalker; the foundation of all dancers." Mara informed Luke. "Now quit stalling and change."
Luke blushed. "Do I have to wear these?"
"Yes." Mara snapped.
Luke sighed, and grabbed his Jedi robe before he went to the men's locker room to change. He walked in and to his relief found it empty. Luke quickly stripped out of his current outfit and donned the skin-tight pants and form-fitting tunic.
He spotted something else in the bag that he had no clue about, and decided he'd ask Mara when he returned. Luke heard the door to the locker room open, and to his horror he heard a very familiar voice.
"Yeah, I lost a bet to Leia and she told me I had to work out this morning and since our gym is full, I went h…" Han stepped around the corner, comlink in hand, and froze in shock at the sight before him, dropping the communications device.
Luke turned a bright shade of scarlet, and hastily donned his Jedi cloak. Han's mouth was still agape, and Lando's voice sounded from the device on the floor.
"Han? You still there?"
Luke quickly used the Force to deactivate the device before Lando could discover Luke's 'dirty little secret', and spill the news all over the galaxy.
Finally Han found his voice.
"Kid?" he asked incredulously.
Luke shifted his feet in extreme discomfort, and moved to brush past Han. Han allowed him to pass, but followed to Luke's dismay. When Luke walked through the door to the room he and Mara were sharing, Luke waited until Han was inside.
Using the Force to lock the door, Luke grabbed Han and pushed him against the wall.
"If you tell anyone about this…," Luke warned.
He was cut off as he heard sniggering behind him. Luke turned to glare at Mara.
"I suppose you are getting a good kick out of this?" he groused.
Mara had her hand to her mouth, but she couldn't hide her snickering. Luke noticed that her face was starting to turn pink from the effort to not laugh outright.
"Luke, what the hell are you wearing?" Han asked, finding his voice once more.
"I have no kriffing clue."
"He's wearing the traditional ballet ensemble for men." Mara supplied helpfully.
Han snorted with laughter. "Ballet?"
Luke groaned. "I am so happy I can provide entertainment for the both of you."
Mara snuck up behind him and pulled off his robe, revealing Luke's new outfit in full. Han finally could contain himself no longer and burst out laughing, rolling on the floor. Mara was right behind him, holding her stomach.
Luke sent a pleading look at Artoo, seeking sympathy there, but the little droid made a noise that sounded suspiciously like 'don't look at me'.
Luke glared at his companions and crossed his arms over his chest. "If you are both done laughing, I'd like to get class over with."
Han and Mara picked themselves off the floor, and wiped tears from their eyes.
"Sure Kid, sure." Han frowned. "Wait, dance classes?"
Luke sighed. "Yes, Han… for the ball."
Han smirked, but to Luke's gratitude did not laugh again. "Wait till Leia hears about this."
"NO!" Luke all but shouted. "For the love of the Force, Han, please do not tell Leia about this." Luke pointed to his outfit.
Han lifted an eyebrow.
"Please, Han. I… I would like to surprise Leia at the ball." Luke said quietly.
Han patted him on the back. "Alright Brother, you have my word."
"Thank you." Luke said, unlocking the door so Han could leave.
As soon as he was gone, Luke locked the door behind him again.
"Is that really necessary?" Mara asked.
Luke turned to her, and found her smirking as well, but there was also something else there. Luke cocked his head, thinking that he saw embarrassment in her gaze.
"Are you alright?"
"Hm?" Mara glanced up, eyes slightly unfocused. She shook herself, and then blinked. "Yes, sorry. Let's begin."
"Oh, I wanted to ask." Luke retrieved the bag, and held up the tan pads with straps. "What are these for?"
"They go on your feet." Mara answered.
Luke nodded, and sat down. It took him a moment, but he got the footwear on, and stood back up.
Luke followed her to the bar on the far wall, where Mara instructed him to hold it with one hand. She showed him the foot and arm positions, and then took him through the basic exercises for the dance.
Luke was surprised how much like some of his Jedi focus exercises the moves were: slow and meaningful, meant to force the dancer to be patient and sure.
Mara had to force herself not to stare at Luke in his skin-tight outfit. She realized that she may not have thought this through when she'd purchased those particular pants. She commanded her eyes to remain focused on his face, and refused to allow them to wander of their own accord.
Finally she could stand it no longer, and she dismissed Luke to go change. He was out the door so fast she barely had time to blink. As soon as he was gone, Mara turned to the astromech droid she'd brought along.
"Did you get me what I asked for?" she asked the droid.
Artoo tootled and a datacard slid from a compartment on the droid's cylindrical body. Mara took the card and moved over to her duffle bag, where she retrieved her datapad and inserted the card.
Immediately Mara was rewarded with holos and even a recording of Luke Skywalker in ballet clothes and performing pliés. Mara laughed again, and jumped when an elbow nudged her in the side.
She had been so caught up in her findings that she failed to notice Luke's return. Luke happened to see over her shoulder as he sat down, and blushed again.
"Did you enjoy the show?" he asked.
Mara nodded, and showed him the pictures. "You looked really good Farmboy."
Luke looked at her in astonishment. Was that a compliment from Mara?
"May I ask what brought all this on?" Luke inquired. "Was it something I did last night? Is it why you ran off?"
Mara shook her head, looking away briefly. "No. Tonight was revenge for you not warning me about that stupid onion."
Luke grimaced. "Remind me never to prank you again, okay?"
Mara nodded once. "You'd best remember that."
He smiled, shaking his head before he sobered once more.
"Seriously though, are you okay? I don't know what went wrong last night, but if it was something I did, please forgive me."
Mara had trouble meeting his eyes, but deep down she knew he deserved an answer for that one. She turned away.
"I… I was just having some, um, emotional difficulty is all." she said softly.
Luke lifted an eyebrow. "No kidding. What set it off?"
Mara shook her head. "My thoughts."
Luke sighed in resignation. "Okay."
Mara felt a pang for not being up front with him, but she couldn't' just tell him outright how she really felt about him. She knew what had brought on her panic attack: she realized that she was falling for Luke Skywalker.
But she had no idea how to deal with those feelings. Because there was a part of her, a small part, but one that was slowly gaining ground that made her feel like she wasn't worth his love. She wasn't someone who could or should be loved. She wasn't pretty enough for him, nor did she think that she was his equal.
Luke could never see her as more than a friend… right?
No… he deserves someone who can make him happy.
"Listen, I promised Jaina I would take her with me to work on my X-wing this afternoon." Luke added. "So I won't be able to cook with you this afternoon. But I will be there for Jedi training."
Mara nodded. "Go spend time with your niece. I will see you tonight; I'd like to spar if you feel up to it."
Luke nodded. "That sounds very refreshing, actually. I will see you tonight, then."
