I want to thank everybody who has read this story and taken time to review. If it sometimes looks like I am being silly...it is because I am. This is not supposed to be a serious fic, so if people are doing things a little out of character, that's on purpose. This story is written for the Luke/Mara 'shippers...the people who were upset that Luke and Mara got engaged without one proper date. This is for the readers who would like some romance in Star Wars that doesn't involve kidnapping the girl and fighting Rancors prior to the engagement. Of course, as soon as I write that I will probably have Mara kidnapping Luke and fighting Rancors. After all, I am making this up as I go along. Thanks again for reading!

~JL~

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It didn't take long to hammer out the remaining details of Mark's life. He was from Alderaan, he had no siblings and he worked for a personal security company.

Leia smiled. "Well, that was easier than any meeting in the Senate I've attended." She pulled out a flimsi with directions written on it. "This is the name to a leading stylist in the area. He is very discrete. He works with all types of high profile people and he's the man we go to when our intel people need disguises." She handed the note to Mara. "There's a contact number. Just give him a few hours advanced notice and he will be ready to change Mark's appearance."

Mara took the flimsi. "Thank you." She turned to Mark. "You ready for your transformation?"

He stood up. "As ready as I'll ever be."

"Before you leave, do you know where are you staying tonight?" Luke asked.

Mara thought about it. "I guess we can get a hotel or stay in the shuttle."

"You'll do no such thing," Leia spoke up. "We have two guest rooms. You can stay with us."

Mara glanced at Mark who just shrugged his shoulders. "If it wouldn't be too much of a bother."

"No bother at all. As long as you can stand being around two newborns."

Mara blanched slightly and looked like she was going to change her mind, but instead smiled. "I appreciate it, Leia, Han. Thank you." She stood. "I'll give the stylist a call and in the meantime we need to get Mark new clothes." She turned to the clone. "You can't wear a borrowed flight suit all the time."

Luke looked like he wanted to join them, but said nothing. Everybody knew that until Mark changed his appearance the two couldn't be seen together.

They said their goodbyes and left the apartment.

As they walked down the hallway to the lift Mara called the stylist and made an appointment for two hours from then.

She then turned to Mark and smiled. "Let's go shopping."

They stopped at a popular shop called the Men's Outfitter. While there Mara picked out a number of casual, dress and work outfits for her friend since he appeared to have no sense of style. Mark would pick a shirt, hold it to his body and ask Mara what she thought. Most of the time she cringed and vetoed his selection.

"I've noticed that you don't like to see me in black clothing." Mark commented. "I thought you would like it since Luke wears it all the time."

She shook her head slightly. "I hate him in black, but to tell him that would mean admitting I'm looking at him."

"I see," Mark nodded. "So you're just waiting for the day when you can see him out of his black clothing?"

"Yes," Mara replied offhandedly and then realized what he said. "Stop that, Mark."

He snickered. "You are just so easy to get riled up."

She glared at him, but there was no longer any fire behind her eyes. "You need shoes, socks and underwear."

Getting the shoes turned out to be no problem since he had an average shoe size, but when they went to the underwear department Mara knew she was going to have trouble with him.

That mischievous look in his eyes came back as he gazed down the corridor. "This place has everything," he said with a grin. He walked down the aisle announcing the various styles. "Sheer mesh thong, male enhancement bikini, leather jock strap, briefs, boxers, Flirt Boxer with butt lifter pouch?" He gave Mara a puzzled look. "What's that?"

Her cheeks reddened. "Something you don't need." She walked down the aisle and picked out a couple packages of underwear. "These are boxer-briefs. Believe me when I tell you—women like boxer briefs. You don't wear leather underwear unless you are trying to attract women in a swoop gang …or other men."

He took the proffered packages. "So you like these?"

"Believe me, they'll look good."

"Then I'm going to get a couple more packages," he said as he grabbed more off the shelf. "I don't want to have to do laundry every other day."

Mara shrugged her shoulders. "Knock yourself out." She looked at her chrono. "We better pay up and get over to the stylist."

They finished their shopping and then caught a taxi to the address Leia had given them.

The salon was packed with patrons of a variety of species. The Devaronian owner, Erico, met them at the entrance. The red-skinned alien gave them a toothy grin as he ushered them into a back room where they stowed their day's purchases and prepared for Mark's makeover.

Erico turned to Mara and frowned. "Go, go," he said in basic as he shooed her out of the backroom. "I work better without an audience. Wait outside." He pointed to a couple chairs outside the door with holozines available for viewing on a sidetable.

Mara wanted to protest, but she knew Erico was making a special appointment for them, so she stayed silent and sat down. She read all the holozines and eventually dozed off in the seat. Somebody shaking her shoulder awakened her sometime later. She looked up and gasped.

"What do you think?" Mark asked.

Mara opened her mouth to say something, but closed it and simply stared at the clone.

Mark frowned. "You don't like it."

"He looks fabulous," said Erico as he moved to Mark's side.

Mara stood to get a better look at her friend. Mark sported a haircut popular with young men living in the lower levels of Coruscant. The hair was practically shaved on the sides, but the hair above was longer and shaped into a flat top. But that wasn't what threw her off. Mark had chosen to color his hair the exact red-gold shade as hers and his irises were dyed the same emerald green.

"Guess who I look like?" Mark asked enthusiastically.

Mara was bewildered. "I have no idea."

"Your kid if you and Skywalker ever get around to having sex!" Mark laughed.

Mara dropped her head down and sighed. "You're too much."

"It looks good, no?" the Devaronian asked concerned, misunderstanding Mara's reaction.

Mara looked at Mark again. He definitely didn't look like Skywalker anymore. "Yes, he looks great," she assured the stylist. She handed him a credit chip as they gathered up their bags. "Wait until Luke sees you." Mara scoffed.

"Come on Mara, he'll take one look at me and decide he wants to make a dozen little Skywalkers with you. You can call them Skycrawlers."

"Watch it Mark, I may change my mind and decide to kill you after all."

Mark snorted. "That's not very sisterly."

She shook her head. "I'm suddenly happy that I didn't grow up with siblings."

They hailed a skycab and made their way back to the Solo residence.

When they walked into Leia and Han's apartment the look on Luke's face was priceless.

"Do you like it?" Mark asked Luke.

Luke didn't say anything right away. He circled his clone taking in the new look. "Well, you won't be mistaken for me."

Mark frowned. "That is not what I asked."

Leia and Han walked into the room. "Wow," was all Leia said.

Han smirked. "I like the hair Mark. Reddish-gold is such an inconspicuous color."

"I figure if they are looking at my hair, maybe they aren't looking so closely at my face."

Leia noticed they were burdened down with shopping bags. "Here, let me show you to your rooms so you can put those packages away."

Mark went into the guest room assigned him and started unpacking his bags. He then went to the door and looked out. "Hey, Luke."

The Jedi looked over to his clone. Mark motioned for him to come over to the room. Luke gave him a puzzled look but went over to Mark.

"Come on in, I got something for you," Mark said in a conspiratorial tone of voice as he closed the door behind them. Mark went over to his bags and pulled out a package, which he tossed to Luke. "These are for you."

Luke caught the bundles and turned it around to read the packaging.

"Underwear?" Luke raised his eyebrows. "Mark, I appreciate the gesture, but I have to tell you, when it comes to presents usually underwear is at the bottom of a gift list. Also, men don't buy other men underwear."

Now it was Mark's turn to roll his eyes. "Shut up and listen. Mara told me women love this type of underwear."

That caught Luke's attention. "What in the worlds do you and Mara talk about when I'm not around?"

Mark thought about it. "Well, she said boxer-briefs are the best and that I should never wear leather underwear." He paused in thought. "Oh yeah, she hates your black clothing and would rather see you naked."

Luke's jaw dropped and the color deepened in his cheeks. "She actually said she wanted to see me in the nude?"

Mark smirked. "Not exactly, but she definitely wants to see you out of the black outfits." Mark threw Luke a plastic bag to conceal the package. "I don't want Mara to see what I gave you. She may reconsider killing me."

Luke put the boxer-briefs in the bag and wrapped it up. "Thanks Mark. You're a good guy."

There was a knock on the door. "What are you two doing in there?" Mara called out.

Luke put the package under his arm, partially concealing it as he opened the door for Mara. "He just wanted to show me his clothes," Luke said with a smile as he exited Mark's room.

Mara gave Luke a distrustful look as he walked to main living area. "I'm going to my apartment for a moment. It's only one floor down." Luke said as he walked backwards toward the front door. He then quickly turned and left the apartment.

Mara turned back to Mark. "You're up to something. I can tell when you are being sneaky."

"Mara, I am not doing anything bad. I promise."

She glared at him suspiciously a bit longer. "Get dressed in something casual. The guys are bringing you out tonight."

Mark smiled. "Where're we going?"

Mara shook her head. "They didn't say. Han just said it was boy's night out."

"You're not coming?" Mark looked disappointed.

"Do I look like a boy?" Mara said sarcastically, but then her features softened. "Mark, I'm not your mother. You have to learn how to get over this separation anxiety."

He nodded. "You're right. Okay, I'll get dressed." He waited until Mara backed out of the doorframe and closed the door.

He looked over the assortment of clothes and started picking out an outfit.

Mara was in her room when she heard the front door indicator chime. She exited just in time to see Talon Karrde ushered into the apartment by Han.

"I didn't know you were coming over," Mara remarked to Karrde.

The roguish smuggler smiled at Mara. "Well, if I am going to consider hiring Mark, I think I should see what he is capable of doing."

Mara didn't quite understand. Noticing her confusion, Han quickly clarified the situation. "I rented the indoor shooting range tonight at the local gun club."

Talon stroked his beard in thought. "We were trying to figure out what Mark could do for the organization. He can't pilot, but we thought security might be his strong suit."

It made sense to Mara. Mark was trained as a soldier, therefore security would be a job he could do.

The front door of the apartment opened and Luke came in. Mara was immediately struck by what he was wearing. He had changed from his usual black outfit into khaki trousers and a blue tunic. Mara smiled with approval. He looked amazing.

"Hey Skywalker." She grinned. "Are you going out with the guys tonight."

Luke glanced over to Han and Karrde with a questioning look.

Han stepped forward. "Sorry Luke, but only three people are allowed at the shooting range at a time." Han glanced over to Mara. "Maybe you can take Mara out to dinner instead. Leia is too stressed out with the kids to cook."

"Oh, okay." He looked over to Mara. "Would you like to go to dinner?"

Mara knew Han was conspiring to get her and Luke together. It was blatantly obvious…but she didn't mind. "Sure, just let me get dressed."

Han, Karrde and Mark entered one of Coruscant's premier shooting ranges. It was owned by a large Besalisk named Jebik. The orange skinned, four armed alien followed them onto the range with a weapon grasped in each hand.

In front of the firing range were numerous tabled alcoves, all separated by ballistic glass. Down range were various humanoid and alien looking droids all currently powered down.

The alien waddled to the first alcove. He held up one of the weapons. "DH-17 Blaster Rifle." He laid the weapon down and went to the next table. "22T4 Hold-out Blaster Pistol, EE-3 Carbine Rifle, and a SSK-7 Heavy blaster pistol." When the alien placed a weapon in each alcove he turned to Mark. "You need instructions on any of these weapons?"

Mark grinned. "No, I am familiar with each."

The alien gave a grunt. "This is the way the game is played. You stand at the first table and put your hands on the sensors. I power up the droids. Don't move your hands until you see the first sign of hostility. If you move your hands off the sensors before you see a blaster in the hands of one of the droids you get points taken off."

The alien moved to each weapon and checked to see if the safety was on and powered up. "Each weapon can shoot three rounds. We will have a total of twelve aggressors down range. One shot, one kill is what you are looking for. If the droid shoots at you the computer will determine if it would be a killing shot. If it is, your turn ends. After you do the first three shots at the first area move to the next. Same thing, put your hands on the sensor and wait for aggression." The alien looked at Mark. "Questions?"

Mark shook his head.

The alien motioned him to the first alcove. Mark stepped up to the table with the blaster rifle on it. He placed his hands on the sensors. Jebik powered up the droids. They were all dressed in the traditional garb of their species, so there were plenty of places to hide blasters. Mark's eyes moved back and forth scanning for weapons. Then he saw one humanoid droid pull a small blaster out from under its coat. Without any thought Mark snatched up the DH-17, switched off the safety, sighted the weapon and took the shot. The droid went down before the gun could even be aimed towards Mark.

Mark could only describe what came next as "being in the zone". It was like time slowed down, but he was moving at high speed. He could no longer hear Han and Karrde cheering him on. The droids down range filled his world; all else was forgotten. He easily took down the other two droids preparing to attack him. He quickly moved to the next table and then next. When he let loose the twelfth and final shot he put down the weapon and let out a deep breath. Mark's tight focus relaxed and the sights and sounds around him once again came clear.

Han slapped him on the back. "That was great shooting kid…I mean, Mark."

Karrde stepped up to him with an astonished look on his face. "That was a perfect score."

Even the Besalisk was impressed. "That is a speed and accuracy record."

Han gave Mark a long probing look. The clone noticed he was being stared at. "What's wrong?"

The words seemed to pull Han out of deep thought. "It's nothing. I was just thinking I'm glad the stormtroopers I went against during the rebellion weren't as good as you."

Mark smiled. He turned to Karrde. "Do I have a job?"

"Yes, and I don't think I need to see any more." He smiled brightly. "I have a new security officer."

"Then let's go out and get a couple rounds," Han suggested.

Mark broke out in a wide grin. It felt good to be part of a group. "That sounds good to me."

"Thanks for coming out to dinner with me again," Luke remarked to Mara. They were dining in a small out-of-the way diner where he hoped they wouldn't be bothered by the paparazzi or autograph seekers.

"Thank you for inviting me." She took a bite of her salad and smiled her approval. "This is good."

"Thanks." Luke realized his heart was beating wildly. He was much more relaxed on their first date since it started out as a couple friends going out to dinner, but going out twice in a row indicated to Luke that a relationship with this beautiful woman might be possible. Now he was nervous. He could feel the blood rush to his head and he was positive he must have been sweating. Why couldn't he be more like Mark? Obviously he didn't have any problems discussing any issue–no matter how out of the ordinary—with Mara.

"When we were on the Independence you said you once had people pulling jokes on you; was that when you were a boy?"

Luke nodded, thankful that Mara was a much better conversationalist than him. "Yes, but they weren't being mean, there's just not much to do on a desert world. There were some kids around my age…Biggs, Fixer, Camie, Windy, Tank, and Deak."

"Did you stay in contact with any of them?"

Luke shook his head. "No, the only person I would have wanted to stay in contact with was Biggs and he died during the Battle of Yavin."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"There's not much to talk about when it comes to my childhood." Luke smiled at her. "Did you have any close friends growing up?"

Mara gave him a sad smile. "There was one friend. He was the son of my dance instructor. The Emperor wanted me to learn dance so I could blend in at royal balls or as an exotic dancer like at Jabba's palace."

"I would have loved to see you dance at Jabba's," Luke commented.

Mara laughed. "You do remember I was there to kill you?"

"Yeah, but I still would have liked to have seen you."

"You may have seen me and not even noticed." Mara grinned.

"I think I would have remembered."

"A rancor was trying to eat you at the time, so you may have been a little preoccupied. Anyway…" Mara got back to her original story. "The dance instructor was named Malina and she brought her son, Jak, to be my dance partner for ballroom dancing. He was my age and very nice. During our breaks he would tell me stories about traveling around to different planets with his mother. She would instruct famous holo-actors and actresses, so he had fascinating stories to tell. Unfortunately, the instruction couldn't go on indefinitely. After my last lesson I never saw or heard from him again." A sad look crossed her face. "After that I never tried to cultivate new friendships because I knew they would all eventually leave."

Luke reached out and put his hand over hers. "I can promise you I won't disappear from your life."

Mara's cheeks flushed. "Thank you."

Luke gave Mara a tentative smile. "I'm not a good dancer, but would you like to go dancing with me after dinner?"

"I would love that."

Han slapped his hand on the bar to get the bartenders attention. "I'd like a whisky," Han turned to Talon.

"A glass of Algarine." He glanced at Mark who looked back at them blankly.

"I never had an alcoholic drink. What should I get?"

"A flameout," Han suggested with a sly look.

Karrde shook his head. "First, Han-I am pretty sure that is illegal in this quadrant and second we don't want to kill the man." He looked to the bartended. "Start him out with a glass of Coruscant blush wine.

The barkeeper nodded and went to get their drinks.

Han swiveled in his seat to look at Mark. "So, how do you like life so far?"

Despite the red hair and green eyes, Han could see the same Skywalker smile spread across Mark's face. "I am extremely lucky." He put a hand on Han's shoulder. "Mara told me you found me. I'm glad you did."

Han felt a little uncomfortable with Mark's gratitude, especially since he was more than ready to pull the plug on the stasis cylinder if Luke had given the word.

"I think you owe more to Luke," he said softly.

Han was glad the drinks came quickly and he could change the subject. He handed the blush wine to Mark. "Drink up buddy."

Mark took the glass tentatively. He sniffed the beverage and looked at it suspiciously.

"Mark, it's not strong. I wouldn't do that to my new employee," Karrde said before sipping his drink.

Mark took a small sip and then smiled. "That's not bad."

Han raised his glass. "To Mark Tantiss."

Karrde also brought up his glass. "To Mark Tantiss." Mark followed their lead. "To me." They clinked their glasses together and took another swig.