The Long Way Home

by fictionfrek101

Before vanishing, Luke Skywalker decided to make a detour to Jakku and collect the body of his reportedly dead daughter, Rey, only to find her alive. With hope renewed, Luke stayed on Jakku to raise and protect her from the First Order, while hiding their past from Rey. But while he waits for the day the Force awakens, he begins a chain of events that changes the story entirely.

26. Part Four: Courtship

Alright, nobody guessed it right, but the scene I forgot to put Luke in originally was the scene where the Emissaries toast Obik. Originally it was Luke dancing with Reine, and he would arrive right after Felicity left. I decided to keep the passage about dancing when I rewrote things because I want to further push the whole Ben was close to Alyla before murdering her thing, hence why Lando is randomly dancing with Reine as Luke's replacement.

So, there are more sex scenes planned in the future, mostly between Luke and Felicity, but I'm curious to hear feedback on whether or not you guys want to see more of them in the story (sex scenes, I mean. I know you guys love Rhiwalker.) It wouldn't just be Luke and Felicity, but (as you probably have guessed) Luke and Aletha, Lando and Alyla, and then a few more ones involving people I can't reveal at the moment because of spoilers. Considering how this is tagged on AO3, I will say, no there's not going to be any love scenes between Finn and Rey in this story (we'll see how things develop in The Last Jedi for their relationship) but there may be at least a foreplay scene with Rey and Teng Malar, who yes, is a canon character, but no, you're not allowed to look him up yet.

Please let me know what you think. I'll also continue to inform you in the author's notes if there is a dirtier version on AO3 for that chapter, which for this and all the Luke flashing back to Felicity chapters on, there will be.

Enjoy!

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The Long Way Home

Chapter Twenty-Six

Part Four: Courtship

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1 Year, 1 Day

When Luke woke in the morning, he was relieved to find that the previous night had not been a dream. Felicity Rhiaon was lying nude in his bed, peacefully sleeping next to him.

Luke smiled to himself at the sight.

He admired the sight for a while; waking up to Felicity Rhiaon in his bed, snuggled up against him, her hair splayed across the pillows, her chest heaving up and down was steady breaths, and her bare skin pressed against his, sending warm feelings of love and intimacy through his body. The act of sleeping next to a person was so profoundly intimate; it was the state in which a person was most vulnerable, and one was placing absolute trust in their partner to protect them.

Luke would protect her: from anything and everyone, from this day forward until the day he died. He would spend every morning for the rest of his life with Felicity having her to hold, and love, and kiss, and laugh, talk about the painful past, talk about the terrifying future.

He couldn't wait any longer; he needed Felicity awake.

Luke leaned over her, and with a hand stroking her thigh, whispered lovingly, "Felicity. It's time to wake up, Sweetheart."

Felicity groaned negatively and shifted slightly. Her neck arched as she turned her face away, trying to capture a little more sleep than her lover would allow. Luke couldn't help but grin when he saw the series of dark marks on her neck. Hickeys were scattered about her pale skin, mostly concentrated on her neck – he had kissed that quite a bit last night, now that he thought about it – but there were also a few marks on her breasts and thighs.

"Felicity," Luke murmured into her skin as he tenderly kissed the marks on her neck. He couldn't help but touch her, his hands stroking up her sides. "Felicity, please wake up."

"Mmm, Luke?" Felicity's eyes slowly fluttered open. She smiled up at him, looking completely at peace, "Oh, I have to wake up next to you more often. Kiss me, Master Skywalker."

He needed no further instruction. Shifting himself to hover over her, Luke pressed his lips to hers hungrily, his tongue slipping into her mouth

Luke lined kisses down the length of her neck, then gave a long flat lick back up to her jaw, "You're so… beautiful."

Felicity smiled as Luke worked his way across her jaw, "Only because I'm so in love."

Luke laughed and pulled back, "No, no, it's because I'm so in love with-"

"Wait," Felicity put a finger on his lips.

"What is it?"

"Nothing," She had an odd expression. "I just feel like if we continue this train of dialogue, we're going to end up saying something completely sappy that, while I may not particularly mind the words, a lot of other people would find it something to mock."

Luke frowned, "Felicity… who is going to even know we said this?"

"I just feel like we shouldn't risk it."

Luke sighed, "Fine. Can we just get back to kissing?"

Felicity chuckled, "Wow… four times last night and you're still eager for more? I severely underestimated you. I don't know if I'll be able to keep up with that on a regular basis."

"Actually, I'm quite proud I managed four times in one night. That's not an everyday thing."

"I'm glad I can inspire you. It's a pity you didn't wake me up a different way this morning," Felicity's thumb ran over Luke's lips.

"Thought about it," Luke confessed, "but wanted to run the idea by you first. How horrifying would it be for you to wake up to me doing that and you not wanting it?"

"Yes, thank you for not raping me. I do appreciate it."

"Anytime."

The pair of them laughed. The heat of the mood was simmering, but neither seemed too inclined to progress things at the moment. They enjoyed just lying together, sharing lazy touches, kissing, and loving each other.

"So, I really did it," Luke played with her hair. "I made love to Felicity Rhiaon."

"And I made love to Luke Skywalker, scars and all," Felicity stroked her hands across his broad chest. "Luke Skywalker kissed me, and touched me, undressed me in his living room, carried me to his bedroom, peeled off my underwear, and threw it-"

Felicity looked over the edge of the bed as if she was going to say it as she looked upon the location of her undergarments. But her words died when she saw they weren't there.

"Luke?" Felicity frowned, her voice completely serious as she looked around the room. "Where did my underwear go? And my bra… and your underwear?"

Luke scowled and looked about in confusion. His eyes fell on the hamper in the corner, and he gave a heavy sigh, "Threepio."

"Excuse me?"

"It was Threepio. Look, the sheets and blankets are neatly folded, sitting on top of my hamper. He must have come in at some point this morning and… cleaned up our mess."

Felicity stared at Luke, "Threepio came in the room?"

"Uh huh."

"While we were sleeping?"

"Yep."

"And we… slept naked."

"I see where this is going, Felicity, and there's no need to freak out," Luke said calmly.

"No need to freak out?" Felicity's tone was the opposite of calm. "LUKE! C-3PO saw me naked!"

"Felicity, Threepio saw Leia and I come out of our mother. If he doesn't talk about that on a regular basis, he's not going to talk about this."

"Luke!"

"Felicity," Luke chided. "C-3PO is an etiquette droid. He may be a little oblivious when it comes to interrupting romantic encounters, but it is literally against his programming to discuss someone's sex life with an outside party."

Felicity sighed, "Are you sure? The last thing I need is Han Solo winking at me and telling you 'Atta boy.'"

"You say that as if I'm not going to tell Han everything already."

"No fair," Felicity playfully smacked his chest. "I don't get to discuss this with anyone. Diego tells me to stop anytime I bring up my sex life, and Leia's your sister. I'm so not going to look her in the eye and tell her 'Guess what? I screwed your twin brother last night. Four times! High five!'"

"Try Zena," Luke suggested. "She's surprisingly open about that kind of conversation. And I'm sure Gavyn would be happy to provide a high five. Though he might only give you it if you manage to bed me five times."

"Well, we'll have to get to work on that, won't we?" Felicity smirked.

A while later, Luke was in absolute heaven. It was the perfect morning for Luke, he was receiving some wonderful pleasure from Felicity in a prelude to going another round.He never wanted the moment to end.

"Master Luke!" Threepio called. "Master Luke, have you awoken?"

The pair froze.

"You have got to be kidding me," Luke seethed as Felicity pulledoff him.

"Where's that tunic I wore last night when I had to go to the fresher?" Felicity looked around wildly as the metallic clang of footsteps came towards the door.

"Master Luke?" Threepio called again. "Forgive me, sir, but it is almost noon and you are still abed."

Suddenly, they heard a series of angry beeps.

Beep boop beep!

"Yes, Artoo, I know Miss Felicity is in there."

Bop boop beep.

"What else would they be doing but sleeping? They coupled last night. Why would they couple again this morning?"

Beep bop bee bop.

"Well, I'm glad you're proud of him, but I am unclear as to what you are proud of. I must admit, I am happy that Master Luke has chosen Miss Felicity for his reproductive partner. Their genetics would create wonderful offspring."

Luke's head was in his hands. He could barely look at Felicity out of embarrassment.

Felicity, to her credit, looked rather unphased by Threepio's comment.

"Hey, we've already agreed we'd be up to making some kids together," Felicity shrugged. "And with our combined look, our kids would be gorgeous."

Luke sighed, "Well, yes. Yes, they would."

"Master Luke, is that you?"

"Damn it," Luke muttered. He collected himself, and called to the droids in as light a tone as possible, "Yes, Threepio. We're awake. Please don't come in at the moment."

The footsteps halted, "Oh, forgive me, Sir. I didn't think you were busy at the moment."

Luke glanced at Felicity waiting between his legs to resume things, "Uh… little busy. I think we're going to have a late morning."

"Of course, sir. I was just going to inform you that I have put Miss Felicity's clothing from last night in the laundry. Miss Felicity, might I suggest you invest in a cleaning droid for your personal use? You seemed to have made quite a mess of your laundry last night, all scattered about. I know it's not my place to pry, but your habits seem to be rubbing off on Master Luke. His clothing was quite scattered last night as well."

Felicity chuckled, "I'll look into it, Threepio."

Luke frowned at Felicity; there was a mischievous look in her eye that worried him.

"Uh, Threepio?" Luke cautiously watched as Felicity started to stroke his thighs. "Were you in my room this morning?"

"Of course," Threepio replied. "I folded your sheets for you and set them on the hamper. Was the temperature too warm in your room for them?"

"No," Luke answered.

"I don't know," Felicity whispered. "I thought things got pretty hot last night."

"Not now," Luke muttered.

"The room temperature was fine. Felicity was justa little self-conscious about you being in the room while she wasnot clothed."

"Oh, fear not, Miss Felicity," Threepio said, "I am a droid of etiquette. It's against my programming to discuss your sexual relationship with Master Luke to an outside party."

"That's good news," Felicity said.

"Master Luke, will Miss Felicity be joining you at lunch today?" Threepio asked.

"I should think so." Luke looked at Felicity, "You want to have lunch with me?"

"I'd be honored," Felicity chuckled.

"Miss Felicity, I put all of your garments in the laundry," Threepio said. "Would you like me to go down to your apartment and gather you some clothing for today?"

Luke groaned; would the droids just go away already? He and Felicity had much better things to do.

"Sure, Threepio," Felicity answered as politely as she could in the situation. "My apartment code is 2736326."

"Of course, Miss Felicity. I… Miss Felicity, 2736326 translates to Brendan on a keypad. I highly recommend changing that as relative names are not a secure passcode."

"I'll think about it, Threepio."

"I could suggest some alternate passcodes, Miss Felicity," Threepio continued. "I do have the ability to generate easy to remember but random series of num-"

"Threepio, please just go!" Luke yelled. He couldn't wait any longer, he needed to make love to Felicity.

"Oh," Threepio sounded surprised. "Forgive me, Master Luke. Miss Felicity, I shall go retrieve your clothing right away."

"Thank you, Threepio," Felicity called. "Oh, and go into my medicine cabinet and bring me the round plastic container. It should have 28 slots in it."

"Of course, Miss Felicity."

Luke raised an eyebrow.

"Birth control," Felicity said.

"I will return shortly," Threepio promised, and finally there were metal clanks of steps leading away.

Bop beep bop bop.

"No, Artoo, I'm sure Master Luke didn't forget."

Beep boop beep beep bop beep.

"Interrupting? I didn't interrupt anything."

Boop bop.

"Watch your language R2-D2!"

And with that the droids were finally gone.

"Wow, looks like R2-D2 is the ultimate wingman." Felicity laughed at her joke, "Get it? Wingman? Because he sits in the wing of your ship, and-"

That's when Felicity noticed the dark look in Luke's eyes. She yelped as Luke suddenly flipped her on her back.

"I think we were in the middle of something, were we not?" Luke's dark tone was simply erotic as his eyes burned.

"Yes, we were," Felicity grinned.

Suddenly she shoved him back, so he was the one lying down on the mattress, his head pointed right at the door. She straddled him,"But who said you got to be on top?"

A while later, Luke was in utter ecstasy as Felicity frantically made love to him, riding him like a pro. There was the distant sound of the apartment door opening.

"Is that Threepio?" Felicity asked stamina was impressive.

"Probably. I could use the Force to find out," Luke started to sit up.

"I'd rather you focus on something else, please,"Felicity pushed Luke back down, her thrusts picking up in pace.

It was scene of absolute lust, flesh and heat; Felicity and Luke's actions on full display. The sight was utterly erotic, and there was nothing that could stop it.

"Come on, Kid, time to get out of bed. It's almost noon!" Han called as the door flew open and he walked in with Leia.

"Oh my God!" Felicity shrieked, scrambling off Luke.

"Han! Leia!" Luke exclaimed.

"Luke!" Leia gasped, instantly turning her head away from the explicit sight of her brother having sex with her childhood best friend.

"Whoa!" Han just looked amused as Felicity tried to cover herself with a pillow and Luke lay on the bed frozen.

Leia's face had drained of all blood, and she looked absolutely beside herself, "I'm just- I…"

Finally snapping out of it, Luke sat up, grabbing a pillow to shield himself, "Leia, we were just-"

"No!" Leia shook her head. "No, I don't want to hear it! Just… no."

"Leia, I'm sorry," Felicity was curled around a pillow, her head bowed so her long hair was covering her face from view. He glanced at Luke and hit his leg, "Luke!"

"Sorry," Luke muttered. Using the Force to summon the blankets on top of his hamper. They quickly moved so they were lying with their heads to the headboard, the blankets pulled up to their armpits, and reclining slightly so they were mildly sociable but not uncovering themselves. "Leia, I'm sorry to you too."

"There's nothing to be sorry about," Leia was looking fixedly at the wall beside her. Ever the politician she politely said, "You're grown adults in a committed relationship. You have absolutely nothing to be sorry about. But as your sister… I just don't want to see that. Especially not when I have… Oh no."

"What?" Luke asked, glaring at Han who was doing his best to suppress his laughter.

"Han, where's Ben?" Leia looked to her husband. "He was following us, right?"

Han glanced behind them, but Ben wasn't there, "I think he ducked into Luke's office to get into those boxes of Anakin Skywalker stuff. BEN, ARE YOU IN LUKE'S OFFICE?"

"YEAH!" Ben's voice called back.

"DO YOU SEE ANYTHING IN LUKE'S BEDROOM?"

"NO. WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO SEE?"

"NOTHING!" Han answered quickly. "ARE YOU TOUCHING YOUR UNCLE'S STUFF AGAIN?"

"…MAYBE."

"PUT EVERYTHING BACK WHEN YOU'RE DONE! NO SOUVENIRS WITHOUT LUKE'S PERMISSION! AND DON'T BREAK ANYTHING! …UNLESS IT BELONGED TO VADER! FEEL FREE TO BREAK THAT STUFF!"

"Han!" Luke snapped.

"BEN, DON'T BREAK YOUR UNCLE'S THINGS!" Leia called, swatting Han's arm. She sighed, "I'll go check on him. Han, care to join?"

"No, I'm good here," Han chuckled at the flustered couple on the bed. "This is quite entertaining."

Luke had never given a dirtier look in his life. Felicity was surprisingly quiet in her embarrassed state. Leia was just happy to make a quick exit.

"So, you finally did it, Luke," Han said slowly, grinning wide as he crossed his arms. He winked at Felicity, "He bedded the illusive Felicity Rhiaon. Atta boy."

"I will kill you, Solo," Felicity growled. "If you even think about telling anyone-"

"Funny, I never pictured you as being ashamed in this department," Han chuckled. "And of course I'm going to tell others. Your involvement or not, I just walked in on Luke having sex. I can't wait to tell the others at our Sabacc game."

Luke glared at Han, "I swear to the Force, if Reine has a betting pool on this-"

"Relax, she doesn't have a pool on when you and Felicity are going to have sex… at least I think she doesn't."

Luke groaned.

"I must say, congratulations, Fliss," Han winked at her. "That was some impressive work. You've got to tell me your secret to having such a toned stomach."

"Out!" Luke yelled.

"I'm just teasing, Kid."

"Good God, Solo," Felicity shook her head. "The one time you're not a Loud Mouth. You couldn't have announced your presence entering the apartment?"

"Keep calling me Loud Mouth Solo all you want, Fliss," Han said. "You're the only one who calls me that. It's not going to catch on."

"What are you even doing here, Han?" Luke groaned. He couldn't believe that his family had walked in on him having sex.

Han frowned, "Kid, it's the day after the Battle of Yavin."

"So?"

Han shot Luke a look.

Luke's eyes went wide, "Oh my gosh, I completely forgot."

"How could you forget? We do this every year!"

"Do what?" Felicity asked.

"Every year on the day after the anniversary of the Battle of Yavin, Han, Leia, Chewie, the Droids, and myself go out for lunch," Luke explained. "We do it every year because lunch after the medal ceremony was the first time the six of us sat down and shared a meal together."

Han added, "It's to remember that first time we sat together as the weird pseudo family we were, and later became on a legal scale… except Chewie. He's not legally related to us."

"That must be why Threepio asked if you were joining us for lunch," Luke sighed, rubbing his face as Felicity rubbed his back. "I'm sorry about this, Han. I had… other things on my mind this morning."

Han raised an eyebrow and looked directly at Felicity, "Kid, you had something on you this morning, but it certainly wasn't on your mind. Come on, Fliss, no need to be bashful. Is the Kid any good?"

But Felicity wasn't going to back down and let him make her feel uncomfortable.

"Oh, Luke's fantastic in bed," Felicity said bluntly. "He's amazing at oral sex, has a short rest period between rounds, and gave me several amazing orgasms last night."

As embarrassed as Luke was, part of him was glad to see Han suddenly so uncomfortable.

"Well, it's good to hear a friend is being taken care of so well," Han weakly offered. "So, Fliss, do you want to join us for lunch?"

"You mean spend the next two hours in awkward silence as I avoid making eye contact with Leia?" Felicity shrugged, "I guess."

"Are you sure about inviting her, Han?" Luke asked. "I'd love it, but if you guys aren't comfortable-"

"You act as if this is the first time I've seen you naked."

Felicity shot Luke a confused look.

"Long story," Luke waved off. "No, I meant that this is usually more a family thing. I don't want to make assumptions-"

"You're not. She's family," Han said flatly.

"Han, I'm flattered you see me as family."

"Hey, after what happened on Takodana, you earned your spot.

Luke frowned, "Takodana?"

"The whole Loud Mouth Solo origin story," Felicity reminded.

"Right."

"Well, I'm going to check on Leia and make sure she isn't too traumatized," Han announced. "We were thinking about going to that Dex's Diner place you won't shut up about."

"Dex's sounds fine," Luke said.

"Alright, well, get some pants on, Kid," Han teased. "I don't think you want me to see a repeat show of what I just got. Though I would love to see again the looks on your faces when you got caught. Maybe I'll start not announcing I'm about to walk into your bedroom."

Felicity narrowed her eyes and warned, "Han Loud Mouth Solo, I swear to the Gods if you intentionally walk in on us having sex-"

"Yeah, I know, you'll kill me," Han finished flippantly.

"No." Felicity flashed Han a very evil grin, "If you intentionally walk in on me having sex with Luke, when I see you… I'm not going to stop."

Both Han and Luke's faces went white as they stared at Felicity.

"Do I have a say in this matter?" Luke raised his hand.

"No," Felicity said simply.

"Alright then."

Han raised an eyebrow, "That… is not the kind of woman I thought you'd end up with, Kid."

"Neither did I," Luke wrapped an arm around Felicity's shoulder, and pulled her in to kiss her forehead. "But I'm glad I did."

Felicity leaned in to Luke's ear and whispered, "May I remind you that we're having a casual conversation with your brother-in-law, completely naked?"

Luke shrugged, "We have a sheet."

Felicity glared at him.

Luke sighed, "Han, would you mind grabbing something for Felicity to cover herself in? Threepio put her clothing from last night in the washer."

"Sure thing," Han riffled through Luke's closet and tossed Felicity a long tunic.

"Well, it's been fun and awkward, but I'm going to go nip into the fresher until Threepio gets here with my clothes," Felicity pulled on the tunic and climbed out of bed. The tunic was black, a little bulky on her, and fell to just above her knees. She leaned over and kissed Luke's cheek. "You were amazing. Now, let's hope I don't run into Leia and Ben in the hallway."

"Love you," Luke called after her.

"Love you too," Felicity said as she slipped past Han and out the door.

"So…" Han stared after Felicity, it now just being him and a naked Luke, covered only by a sheet, "That was eventful."

"Could have been worse," Luke shrugged. "It could have been Felicity and I walking in on you and Leia. Imagine that my best friend and my twin."

"You realize that is exactly what happened here but just the other best friend and the other twin?"

"I meant worse for me. At least I got to make love to a beautiful woman for a little while first."

"Yeah, about that. I have to ask Luke… Not that I was intentionally looking, or focusing on that area, but… Are you guys using protection? Because that didn't look like it."

"We're covered, Han, don't worry."

Han gave a sigh of relief, "Good."

Luke raised a brow.

"Look, I love Ben. He's the best thing that I've ever done in my life. Having an amazing kid like that is far more than a lowly smuggler like me has ever deserved, and I wouldn't give him up for anything," Han was beaming with pride as he spoke of his son. Then his face fell, "But I'm serious about forgoing protection, Luke. Not even once."

---

1 Year, 1 Month, 1 Day

"To Felicity Rhiaon!" Wedge led the rest of Rogue Squadron in a toast during their twice annual drinking night out. "She finally slept her way to the top!"

"And to Wedge Antilles!" Felicity laughed, Luke's arm lovingly wrapped around her. "Let's pray he doesn't put anyone in the hospital this time."

"Speaking of," Hobbie leaned over in his chair to examine Felicity. Her dress had some suggestive cutouts down the sides exposing the bare flesh underneath, "Is that a hand shaped bruise on your hip?"

"What can I say, boys?" Felicity chuckled, sipping her drink. "Sex gets rough when a Jedi with a mechanical hand and a taste for dominance gets involved."

The Squadron hooted and teased Luke as his face turned red.

"I always had a feeling about you being into that, Luke!" Wedge punched his arm.

"Could we please change the subject?" Diego groaned. "I don't want to picture Skywalker and Rhiaon humping."

Felicity smirked, "Oh you're just jealous because the only real action you've gotten in the past three years is from your war wound."

"Classy, Rhiaon," Diego smacked her playfully with the aforementioned messed up hand, "making fun of a man's disability!"

"It's what I do," Felicity giggled. "Boys, I have come to discover that I was put in this world to do three things: steal Death Star plans, make fun of Diego Nalto, and screw Luke Skywalker until he can't walk straight. Hey! Bar attendant person! Another round for me!"

Luke lowered her hand that was hoisting up her empty glass, "Okay, you're giggling, which means you've had way too much to drink. I'm cutting you off."

"Or," Felicity giggled, pressing her body against his, "you could give me another drink, and when we get home, we'll have a little fun tonight, and I'll do that thing you've been trying to get me to do."

Luke swallowed, very aware of the eyes on them, "No, Felicity. We're not doing that without proper – aka sober –consent."

"Oh, good, then I didn't record this for nothing," Felicity pressed a button on her wrist comm.

A small recording of Felicity's voice played, "Hey, Luke, this is Sober Felicity. Just wanted to record this because I know you're getting back from Rornian today and we won't have a chance to speak and get this on the record until we meet tonight at the bar with the other Rogues. I would like to state on the record in my sober state of mind that I have finally decided I'm okay with trying that thing you've been attempting to get me to do. I consent to having that act performed on me in either a sober state of mind, or an intoxicated state of mind. I also consent to, should we so choose, engage in sexual intercourse with you tonight, even if we are drunk. I consent to this on the understanding that it will be you and only you whom I have sex with tonight, and that we will honour our pre-established boundaries while doing so. Have fun tonight, and I look forward to our sex."

Luke looked at Felicity in amazement, "You know it's sexy how organized you can be sometimes."

"So am I doing that thing tonight, or am I cut off from alcohol?"

"Waitress! One more round!"

The other Rogues laughed at the pair of them.

"Nalto, you should have set these two up years ago," Zev shook his head.

"They would have so many smirking, trigger happy, Jedi kids by now," Wedge shook his head.

"Actually, I did try to set them up once," Diego recalled.

Luke frowned, "Excuse me?"

"Remember on Hoth? I tried to set you up with my friend that one night."

"That was Felicity?" Luke's jaw dropped, having forgotten about the time Diego had seen Luke watching Han and Leia forlornly, and suggested Luke go to dinner with his female friend who was coming in for one night. Luke had agreed, but the plans had gone a little off the rails.

"I thought you knew," Diego said.

"No, I completely forgot about that."

"Wait, you're the jerk who stood me up?" Felicity narrowed her eyes at Luke, which would look a lot more threatening if she wasn't struggling so hard to just sit upright. She poked his chest, "You better have a good reason for that, Skywalker."

"I was attacked by a Wampa."

"That's a good reason."

"Wow, I can't believe it," Luke shook his head. "You almost went to Tatooine to track down the Death Star plans… You were almost assigned to go with the mission to Endor until they decided you were too invested personally… We almost went on a date on Hoth. So many times we almost got together, years before we actually did. It's almost like this was-"

"If you say destiny, we're not having sex tonight."

"…a very good match," Luke finished weakly.

"Good save," Felicity groaned, plonking her face right onto Luke's chest. "Sweetheart, I don't feel so good."

"Here, Fliss," Deena Kopos got out of her chair. "Let's get you to the fresher. I think you've had a little too much to drink."

Luke kissed Felicity on the forehead and helped ease her into Deena's arms, "Make sure she drinks some water."

"Will do," Deena started to lead Felicity to the fresher.

"Did I ever tell you the story of how I stole the plans to the Death Star?" Felicity slurred as she stumbled along with Deena.

"Can't say you have."

"It all started with the day of my birth…"

Luke laughed as he watched the girls walk away.

"That girl's certainly a handful," Wes chuckled. "Makes me glad that Tesha's bark is worse than her bite."

"Fliss has always been a lively one," Diego shook his head. "I'm glad she found someone like you, Skywalker. I think this could go the distance."

Luke smiled as he watched Felicity stumble towards the fresher, "Yeah… me too."

Diego took a swig of his drink, "Hey, Luke?"

"Yeah, Nalto?"

"Since all the other male figures in her life have passed on, I feel it's my duty to tell you that if you ever hurt Felicity, I'll kill you and make it look like an accident."

Luke raised an eyebrow, "I have absolutely no intention of hurting Felicity Rhiaon mentally, emotionally, physically, sexually, intellectually or any other allys."

"Good."

"But you do know I'm the Jedi Grandmaster? You really going to go up against me?"

"Luke Skywalker, you hurt Felicity Rhiaon or any woman I love, I will absolutely kick your ass."

Luke laughed, "Noted, Rogue Two."

---

1 Year, 3 Months, 27 Days

"I'm Third Sister," Tyla's declaration was simple, straight to the point, and without any excusing or handwaving away the magnitude of her crimes.

It was also probably one of the stupidest things Luke ever decided to do.

When Luke started hanging out with Felicity, Tyla had come to him expressing the fear that someone was going to finally figure out the truth about her past. When Luke started dating Felicity, that fear intensified. And when Luke came to Tyla, telling her of his no lies by omission agreement with Felicity, begging Tyla to come forward with the truth or else he would be forced to tell Felicity himself, Tyla finally agreed.

Tyla had very complicated feelings and a very long history with the Empire. She hadn't come to Luke's Order initially out of the goodness of her heart and desire to be a better person.

It was a whole different kind of desire that led her to Luke.

Tyla had been Vader's favorite Inquisitor, and later his right-hand assassin, sending in Major Kinall to strike fear into the hearts and deal with any insurgents when the issue was too insignificant for Vader to be bothered with. Vader had strongly bonded with Tyla and left her wanting for nothing. But they were careful of her position, ensuring Palpatine didn't think she was Vader's potential Sith Apprentice and that Vader was plotting to overthrow him.

…At least, she wasn't at first.

Shortly after the Battle of Yavin, Vader discovered that Palpatine had been training a whole horde of possible replacements for him because he was useless in his life support suit.

To say Vader was unhappy about that was putting it mild.

For about a week, Vader formulated the plan. He would overthrow Palpatine and take Tyla as his Sith Apprentice. And then came the news that changed his life: the news that the pilot who blew up the Death Star was named Luke Skywalker.

Vader's son was alive.

His plans changed. He couldn't possibly give the spot of Apprentice to some girl over his own son, but he knew that Tyla was faithful to him, and she would be a valuable asset to the throne if he became Emperor. So, Vader told Tyla of Palpatine's betrayal and the revelation of his son (Tyla was smart enough not to ask about Luke's mother.) Tyla swore her fidelity and loyalty to Vader's grand designs and agreed to step aside for Vader's son. Luke was a handsome young man only a few years younger than her and surely wielded far greater power than Tyla.

She agreed to step aside for Luke because Vader had promised her that when he died, she would gain the role of Empress… Empress Consort to the Emperor Luke Skywalker.

The plan was simple, Vader would lure Luke to the Dark Side, and Tyla would seduce him into staying. Luke and Tyla would wed, and Tyla would have the honour of bearing the next generation of the Skywalker line, which would no doubt be extremely powerful with their combined power through the Force.

They just didn't expect that Luke wanted nothing to do with the Dark Side.

But Tyla was patient, and she waited through the years for Vader to find and turn his son.

…But then Luke rejected Vader in Cloud City.

…And rejected him again on Endor.

…And defeated Vader, becoming a full Jedi in the process.

…And then the Emperor died.

…And then Vader.

…And then the Second Death Star.

…And then the Empire in general.

When the dust had all settled, Tyla had nothing. No job, no money, no purpose. She wandered for a while; killed and stole as needed, and struggled to survive in a world without a place for her. The only thing that kept her going was the one thought Vader had hammered into her head over and over for four years:

Luke Skywalker is your destiny.

So, when Tyla heard that Luke Skywalker had opened a Jedi Order and that anyone was welcome to come live and learn, she knew she was on the right path. She would go there, meet Luke, be accepted in the Order, train as a Jedi and give her own insights to the Dark Side, maybe seeing what all this fuss was about the Light Side, and she and Luke would fall madly, hopelessly in love as was their destiny.

And all that happened… Except Luke rejected her advances. He wanted nothing to do with her in a romantic context. Not only did he find her personality abrasive and unattractive, but he worried that pursuing a relationship with Tyla would only lead them both down the path to the Dark Side. Her so called "love" of Luke was rooted so firmly in her history with the Dark Side, that Tyla could never detach one from the other.

So, to see Luke fall in love with a woman who not only hated Darth Vader, but barely believed in the Force, led Tyla to an antagonistic relationship with Felicity. But there was one part to their relationship that was hidden away in the shadows, and the longer it stayed there, the more explosive the reaction would be once uncovered.

Though both parties were reluctant, Tyla and Luke agreed that it was time for Tyla to come clean to everyone about her past. Luke gathered the Order, as well as Han, Ben, Leia, and Felicity in the Meditation Gardens on Rornian, and had Tyla go before them and confess the truth.

For the declaration, Luke had Obik, Felicity, and Leia – the three people who had actually been connected to the death of Brendan Rhiaon – stand closest to Tyla. It would be good for them to be close so that if they wanted to break off from the group and have a quiet chat they could.

Luke couldn't say he wasn't disappointed with the reactions of Tyla's confession.

Leia immediately grabbed Ben, and shoved him behind her, towards Alyla – who frankly didn't understand what was going on but just went with it. Leia of all people had the most reason to hate Third Sister. Yes, Tyla had orchestrated the death of Brendan Rhiaon which was life-changing for Felicity, but Tyla had killed him because of Leia. Brendan had confessed his desire to join the Rebellion twice. Each time it had been in the vicinity of Third Sister, and each time that confession had been to Leia.

Leia would never trust Tyla again after learning her identity, and she made sure to never discuss classified information around Tyla again.

Luke was also disappointed in Obik's reaction. Obik knew the history of Third Sister's crimes with Brendan Rhiaon all too well, and he had made some pretty strong implications of what he would do to Tyla. But Obik didn't attack her; what he did was much worse in Luke's eyes.

Obik stared at Tyla for a long minute, then turned and looked back at Felicity. Felicity, who was stunned and blank, her body shaking with a mixture of rage and sorrow. There was only one person standing between Felicity and Tyla, and that person was Obik.

After another minute, Obik turned back to Tyla, and a hard, dark look set on his face. Luke could sense the Force shifting with a touch of Darkness around him. Reine – who was standing next to her husband – sensed it too, and grasped his arm.

Obik gently shook Reine's arm away, and he took a step forward. He locked eyes with Tyla, waiting until she looked at him. When he had caught her attention, he made a show of looking back at Felicity, and back at Tyla.

And then he stepped out of the way.

He didn't say a word, but his eyes were dark as he made a show of walking not only out of Felicity's path, but to the edge of the glass wall of the garden's greenhouse enclosure. He leaned upon it and crossed his arms, an angry scowl upon his face.

His message was clear: whatever Felicity did to Tyla… he wasn't going to stop it.

Luke didn't quite know what to expect Felicity's reaction to be. He thought maybe some screams and swears and probably at least an attempt at a slap. But he wasn't expecting what she did.

Hearing that her brother's last remaining killer – and the only one Felicity ever had the opportunity to face – was standing before her… Felicity said nothing. She did nothing. She just stood there in stunned silence as the rage built up in her.

For a few minutes, everyone was distracted by Leia and Obik's reaction, but make no mistake, it was Felicity's reaction they truly waited for. No one dared to move or speak until Felicity did.

Then she did.

Slowly, wordlessly, Felicity walked towards Tyla.

Luke and Reine exchanged a look and readied themselves to jump into action. They didn't know what was about to happen, but they could sense the Darkness building around Felicity.

Tyla, to her credit, stood her ground. She knew that admitting her identity meant facing Felicity Rhiaon, and she would do it with dignity. If Felicity wanted to scream, she would not argue. If Felicity wanted answers, she would give them. If Felicity wanted to slap her so hard that Tyla would fall unconscious, she would not flinch.

But Felicity didn't do that.

Luke had always known Felicity liked to talk the talk about beating someone up, or threatening to kill Han over leaving the toilet seat up. He also knew that Felicity had in fact ended lives during the war. But he knew deep in his heart that Felicity Rhiaon was not the type of person who would commit cold blooded murder. Luke was certain that Felicity would never kill but in self defense.

So, he was greatly surprised when she grabbed Tyla by the throat, slammed her against a tree, and actually tried to choke her to death.

"Felicity!" Luke yelled as he and Reine sprung into action.

Felicity screamed nonsensically about her brother's murder and that she was going to kill Tyla as she strangled her. Tyla desperately tried to gasp out an apology and pry Felicity's hands from her throat.

Reine got to Felicity first. She locked her arms around Felicity and wrenched her away from Tyla. Luke was at Tyla's side, checking that she was okay as Reine wrestled the thrashing Felicity.

Felicity smashed her elbow backwards, hitting Reine right in the nose. Reine yelled and grabbed her bloody, possibly broken nose. Felicity took advantage of moment to escape Reine's grasp.

Tyla saw Felicity coming for her, and not wanting to put Luke in a position where he might have to hurt one of them to protect the other, used the Force to push him back.

The next few moments were utter chaos.

It wasn't clear who struck first, but the next thing anyone knew, Tyla and Felicity were desperately scrapping. Felicity was actually trying to kill Tyla, while Tyla perhaps went a little overboard with self defense.

A group converged to pull the women apart: Han and Gavyn got a hold of Felicity while Cade and Zena tried to get Tyla to back down. All parties got quite a few injuries for their efforts. Leia, on the other hand, much like Obik didn't seem too inclined to stop Felicity from hurting Tyla.

Ben would learn a magnitude of new curse words from the brawl that day, but he didn't get to stay for it. Luke nodded at Alyla, and she made to remove Ben and the other children from the Gardens with the help of Eline and Jafan.

Luke watched from the side as he held Reine's shoulder while her nose bled fiercely. He was trying to inch her over to Doctor Kalonia – who was only a few months on the job and seriously re-evaluating her decision to come work for the Jedi – where Reine could get her nose looked at.

"Luke, you have to do something!" Reine snapped.

"I…" Luke frowned. "I don't know if I can."

"Luke!"

He felt so helpless in that moment. Luke could absolutely walk into that brawl and shut it down in three seconds flat, but doing so would be very costly. He didn't want to hurt either women, certainly not emotionally and absolutely not physically. Luke Skywalker would never put himself in a situation where he might strike Felicity Rhiaon.

But he couldn't just let Tyla become victim to Felicity's fury. Temple Village was not governed by the will of a lynch mob, but there was more to it than that. If Tyla was pushed too far, not only would she overpower Felicity easily with her Force abilities, but it might trigger a return to the Dark Side.

At the same time, he couldn't just step in and defend Tyla. She had orchestrated the death of Brendan Rhiaon, the defining moment in Felicity's life. Was he really going to say her feelings of anger were unjustified? Was he really going to step in and side with Tyla? Not only was it morally gray, Luke worried the effect it could have on his relationship with Felicity. He could lose her.

Luke sighed and looked over at Leia. His sister had the same confliction in her heart, and possibly even more so than Luke. She had known Brendan, and probably a small part of her had genuinely loved him (though not the way she loved Han, despite her crush on Brendan. It was more the casual friendship type love Leia had for Lando.)

But, as conflicted as Leia was, her decision was clear. She wasn't going to be the one who stepped between the woman, but they couldn't let this happen. Yes, what Tyla did was wrong, but they couldn't let Felicity kill her. And yes, losing Felicity was a risk of standing up for Tyla …But if she killed Tyla, the Felicity Luke loved would be lost anyway.

Luke took a deep breath, and then a step forward.

Felicity was on top of Tyla, though Luke couldn't quite see what she was doing, but whatever it was, based on Tyla's shrieks it clearly hurt. Tyla smashed an elbow into Felicity's face, and Felicity jerked back. Catching Felicity off-guard, Tyla made a movement with the lower half of her body that seemed to be some combination of a kick and twisting her pelvis. It managed to get Felicity off of her.

Seizing the opportunity, Han ran up behind Felicity, hooked his arms under her armpits and clasping his hands behind her neck. No matter how hard Felicity tried fighting him off, Han had incapacitated her… but that certainly didn't mean Felicity wasn't trying to fight him.

"Let me go! Let me go right now, Solo!" Felicity screamed as Han dragged her back.

"Not a chance, Rhiaon," Han struggled to hold Felicity up as she thrashed in his arms.

"LUKE!" Anakin Skywalker's voice was sudden and urgent in Luke's mind. "Look into Tyla!"

Anakin had the habit of getting involved where Dark Side Tyla Kinall was concerned. Considering he was responsible for Tyla's difficult life, and for a very long stretch of time, she was the closest thing Vader had to a kid, he felt it his duty to help Luke guide her onto the right path.

"Son of a-" Han yelled as Felicity suddenly bit his arm. As childish as the move was, it was effective because he dropped his hold on her, and Felicity managed to sprint towards Tyla.

Tyla likewise had escaped the hold of Zena and Cade. She could see Felicity heading straight for her, and Darkness pulsed in the Force around her.

Luke knew Tyla's mental barriers were vulnerable and he pushed into her mind. Tyla didn't push him out, allowing him to see the memory playing in her mind.

---

Tyla was standing next to Vader on the bridge of a Star Destroyer. She was clothed in her all black Imperial gear, her straight, ice blonde hair falling down her back, and her ice blue irises had changed to yellow. Based on her attire and age, Luke knew this was after the other Inquisitors had been killed and Vader had taken her on personally.

She stood with a vindictive grin, her arm outstretched, her black gloved hand contorted in a clutching motion. A few feet away in front of her, an Imperial officer clutched his throat, choking on air as the rest of the crew looked on in fear.

"Good," Vader praised Tyla. "The Force Choke is always the best line of defense. No need to get bloody or personal, except for those who are worth it. And a Non-Force Sensitive is almost never worth it."

---

Luke's eyes widened; he knew Tyla's next move.

"No!" Luke ran forward to stop it.

But it was too late; Tyla's eyes narrowed at Felicity, and Luke could have sworn they flashed yellow. She threw her hand forward and made an all too familiar motion. Felicity stopped in her tracks, gasping, her hands flying to her throat. There was no denying what had happened.

Tyla was Force Choking Felicity.

"ENOUGH!" Luke roared.

He threw out his hands, and everyone but him found themselves knocked to the ground. Bewilderment pulsed through the building as everyone tried to collect themselves and get back to their feet. Tyla and Felicity had been thrown the furthest, which had successfully ended the choking, but immediately they shot back to their feet. Both women went to charge back at each other, but suddenly found they could not move a muscle.

After a moment of confusion, all heads slowly turned to Luke. He stood before the assembly, arms outstretched towards Felicity and Tyla, his face red and shaking with rage.

It took a while for the group to figure out that Luke was holding Felicity and Tyla in place, preventing them from hurting each other. No one had ever seen that Force Ability before, and frankly it just felt… wrong.

Luke Skywalker was furious. His eyes were dark as he looked upon Felicity and Tyla, not knowing who he was angrier with.

"I DON'T WANT TO USE THIS POWER!" Luke yelled, struggling not to let the Dark Side overtake him. Most people in that building had never heard Luke raise his voice in anger before. It would be a lie to say there wasn't genuine fear pulsing through that building. "THIS IS THE MOST DISGUSTING FORCE ABILITY I HAVE EVER ENCOUNTERED, AND I'VE BEEN HIT WITH LIGHTNING!"

He looked at Tyla and saw both fear and shame in her eyes, but when he looked at Felicity, he didn't see fear… he saw anger.

"To take away someone's agency over their own body is reprehensible," Luke lowered his voice, but his tone was no less stern. "But I will use this ability if it's the only way I can you two from killing each other!"

Slowly, Tyla and Felicity stopped trying to fight off their restraint, but Luke still did not lower his control.

"You two are grown women!" Luke snapped. "And I thought you two were a lot smarter and more mature than this display. You are acting like children. You think this is going to solve anything? Change the past? Bring back the dead?"

Tyla looked to the ground, and Felicity's eyes narrowed.

Luke looked to the former, "Tyla… you know better than this. You know you cannot give in to those urges. You know that Force Choking someone is never acceptable."

"Hypocrite," Cade Ren disguised in a cough.

Luke gritted his teeth, "Cade, not now!"

Han walked up behind Cade and grabbed the back of his robes, ready to put the kid in line if he acted out again.

Jake asked Doctor Kalonia if she had a cough drop for Cade.

"You cannot give in like that, Tyla," Luke warned. "I am trying to help you, but I cannot fight this battle for you. And I cannot have you attacking anyone in this village. Do you understand me?"

Tyla bowed her head, "Yes, Master Skywalker."

"Felicity," Luke tried not to let his voice shake as he faced the woman he loved, "I am so sorry for what happened with Brendan. If I could go back and change what happened, I would. But this isn't the way to settle it, and it certainly isn't what Brendan would want you to do."

The look Felicity was giving him was downright lethal.

"Do not speak of my brother as if you knew him, Luke," Felicity growled. "You don't get to tell me what Brendan would have wanted!"

"You're right, I don't," Luke conceded. "But this isn't what I want. And I don't think this is what Han wants, or Leia, or anyone who is alive and cares about you."

"She killed my brother, Luke."

"I know, and how to deal with that fact is something I've been struggling to figure out for months."

Felicity's eyes widened.

"But you can't do this, Felicity," Luke continued. "You can't kill Tyla for arranging Brendan's death. This isn't war! If you killed her here and now for this, you would be arrested for murder. Do you honestly think Brendan would want you to waste the rest of your life in a prison cell?"

"Felicity," Tyla quietly said. "I am truly sorry for what I did… to you, and to everyone who was affected by that bombing."

"And yet you chose to continue to be an Imperial," Brinna Tharen muttered.

"Brinna," Reine warned.

"Come on, she has a point," Coria said. "Do we really want an Inquisitor among our ranks?"

"I'm not an Inquisitor anymore," Tyla dismissed.

"Once an Imperial, always an Imperial," Davarl sneered.

"So, being a former Imperial automatically makes you bad?" Zhane snapped. "Nice to know where you lot stand on my role in this Order."

"If we have issues with you being in the Order, Zhane, it's not over your Imperial past," Obik glared.

"You have something to say to me, Kenu?" Zhane growled.

"Nothing he doesn't have a point about," Zena said coolly.

Bakura scoffed, "That's rich coming from a slaver."

"And that's rich coming from a murderer," Gavyn shot.

"You would know, Kene."

"Yeah, well at least I didn't lie about my murder, blaming it on a 'surge of uncontrolled Force Powers,' and called it an accident. How many years of prison did you avoid in exchange for joining this Order?"

"Probably the same number of years you let slavers use your sister, till she ran dry and tried to kill herself."

"STOP!" Luke yelled. "We can't keep doing this, people! We can't continue all this in-fighting, or it's going to destroy us just like the Old Jedi Order. It doesn't matter! It doesn't matter if Tyla was an Inquisitor! It doesn't matter if Zhane was an Imperial! It doesn't matter if Zena was a slave owner! It doesn't matter if Gavyn once murdered a man for hurting Alyla! It doesn't matter if Bakura exchanged a murder prison sentence for service to the Order! It doesn't matter if Alyla once decided to disfigure herself! It doesn't matter if I'm the son of a Sith Lord! We all have sins in our past. All that matters is how we live our lives now! Who we choose to be now! So, Tyla… Felicity… I'm going to let you go in a second. If you move to strike anyone in this building, I'll put you back under my hold until you can behave like an adult."

Taking a deep breath, Luke released the women. To his relief, Felicity and Tyla behaved themselves… but Felicity's face was dark with pure rage.

"Now," Luke looked at the women, "can you two choose to be the better person? I'm not asking anyone to forgive or excuse the other. All I ask is that we can live our lives without you two trying to murder each other. That's all I want! Is that too much to ask?"

Tyla sighed, "No, it isn't."

Luke smiled, "And Felicity?"

He was shocked at the fury in her face.

"Felicity?" Luke frowned.

"You knew," Felicity whispered. "…You knew that she killed my brother. You knew she was Third Sister, and you didn't tell me?"

"Felicity," Luke cautiously walked towards her. "This was that lie by omission I promised to eventually reveal to you."

She looked like Luke had just hit her.

"How long have you known?" Felicity demanded.

"Felicity-"

"How long?"

Luke took a deep breath as he came to a stop in front of her, "I've known since that day in my apartment when you told me that Third Sister was involved with Brendan's death."

Felicity slapped Luke.

"You son of a bitch!" Felicity screamed. "You've known this entire time, and you didn't tell me! You swore to me you wouldn't hide anything from me. You looked me in the God damn eye and lied!"

"I told you I had one secret that wasn't mine to tell!" Luke snapped. "I had to give Tyla the chance to tell you!"

"Oh, screw you! We both damn well know the only reason you didn't tell me that night was because you wanted to fuck me, and that would have ruined the mood!"

Luke took a deep breath, unable to face any of the eyes on him after that declaration.

"Felicity, please," Luke said calmly, closing a hand over her arm, "let's go somewhere private and discuss-"

"No! Don't you touch me!" Felicity wretched her arm out of his grasp. "Don't you dare touch me!"

Luke took a step back and held up his hands to show he was going to honour her request. He could see Felicity struggle not to completely break down in tears in front of the audience. She felt that he had betrayed her and broken her heart.

Diego Nalto was so going to kick his ass.

Felicity took a deep breath and turned to Tyla, "I hate you. I hate you more than I've ever hated someone in my life. I hate you more than Phasma… I hate you more than Vader. But maybe… maybe that will pass with time. Maybe you won't be my end all, epitome of hatred someday. I will never like you, but I'll be the person that Brendan would want me to be. I won't kill you. That is the only mercy I will ever grant you. Do you understand?"

Tyla nodded.

Felicity looked back at Luke, tears falling from her eyes, "I love you, Luke. I truly do… but I can't forgive this. How can I ever trust you after this?"

"Felicity," he begged, reaching for her, "please, just-"

"No," she moved her arm away again. Felicity looked into his eyes – her own so vulnerable – and firmly said, "No, Luke. You… will never touch me again."

"Felicity-"

"We're done, Luke." She took a ragged breath and pushed past him, "This is over."

"Felicity, please!" Luke called after her.

But Felicity marched straight into the arms of Leia, who comforted Felicity as she led them out of the Gardens. Han and Obik were quick to follow.

Luke looked to the ground, trying not to break down into tears. He could hear the judgemental and disapproving whispers around him, and struggled not to let the others see him cry. Felicity's leaving had fractured his heart, and it would fully break later that night when Han informed Luke that neither Felicity nor Leia wanted him on the Falcon when they went home.

One by one, the Jedi silently left the Meditation Gardens, and Luke to his misery. He didn't need to look up to know when just he and Tyla remained.

That was when he let himself cry. He had just lost the best thing that had ever happened to him. This wasn't supposed to happen, he was supposed to live happily ever after with Felicity, not lose her after four months.

To Tyla's credit, she didn't approach Luke; she got stood in the spot he had frozen her and watched as he cried.

"I'm sorry, Luke," Tyla said, a foreign vulnerability in her tone. "I should have come clean to her the first time she came to Temple Village. Keeping this secret was holding me back from the path of healing."

"No," Luke shook his head, "this is my fault. I shouldn't have kept this secret from her."

"It wasn't your secret to tell… and I appreciate it."

"I don't," he admitted.

"I'm sorry for that. Look on the bright side, if she wasn't going to stay with you through thick and thin, at least you found out early on. You deserve someone who will stay with you no matter what. You know, if there's anything I can do-"

"Please, Tyla, stop," Luke said firmly. "I cannot deal with this right now. Please, just… leave me alone."

Tyla looked at the ground, "Yes, Master Skywalker."

She took a few steps and then paused.

"Luke?"

"What, Tyla?"

"If there's one thing I know for certain about Skywalker men it's that, good or evil, a Skywalker never gives up without a fight."

And with that she was gone.

Luke's hands shook as he struggled to figure out his next move. This had been one of the worst days of his life. Almost everyone he cared about had turned on him, and he had betrayed them all. The Jedi and his family would be forced to eventually move on with their continued interactions, but Felicity… Felicity was about to slip through his fingers.

A Skywalker never gives up without a fight.

Tyla was right; he had could fight against all odds and redeem Anakin Skywalker, if he could destroy a Death Star, and save Han from carbonite, he could somehow, someway win back Felicity Rhiaon.

With new resolve, Luke turned around, ready to formulate some game plan. But he froze when he saw the sight behind him.

Crouched in the greenery, hidden quite cleverly, having somehow broken off from the group of children, was Ben Solo.

Luke's mouth went dry as his heart dropped to his stomach. He had performed the most atrocious Force Power he knew, to hold someone against their will… And he had shown his nephew exactly how to do it.

He had a bad feeling about this.

---

1 Year, 4 Months, 11 Days

Luke knocked incessantly on the apartment door, just as he had been doing for nearly two hours.

"Felicity, please, open up," Luke called, sensing her presence inside. "I know you're in there. Please, can we just talk about this?"

There was no reply.

"Felicity, please, come on, it's been two weeks," Luke started up his knocking again. He was honestly surprised that no neighbour had come to see what was going on. "I miss you and I love you. Please, just let me talk."

Nothing.

Luke took a deep breath and pounded on the door more firmly, "Come on, Felicity. I'm not going anywhere. If I have to knock non-stop for the rest of the day, sleep on the floor, and then spend all of tomorrow knocking on your door, I will."

Finally, footsteps thudded towards the entrance, and the door slid open to reveal Felicity.

"Felicity," Luke smiled.

"I'm only opening this door to tell you that if you don't vacate my property in the next sixty seconds, I am calling the police," Felicity said sternly.

But based on how she looked, Luke knew that wasn't true. She had clearly spent the two hours he had knocked, putting herself together so that every part of her was specifically tailored to be a way that drove Luke wild.

The casual way her hair was down on her shoulders that looked natural, but Luke knew she used extensive products to get that slight curl, that airy hold, and the perfect volume. Her simple makeup that was made to look like she wasn't wearing any, except for the expertly executed smoky eye look, and the crimson lipstick that Luke had told her was the exact shade of her Force Signature which she wore whenever she was trying to seduce Luke. The starbird necklace strung around her neck, sitting right in the valley of her cleavage. The casual cranberry tank top, covering a bra that was lifting her breasts just right. The tight black leather pants Luke had picked out for her one time they had gone shopping together, which she had worn out of the store, and then Luke had eagerly peeled off her when they got home. And those brown, knee high, heeled boots that drove Luke wild, which cemented the fact that Felicity was intentionally putting herself together for Luke.

Because Felicity didn't wear shoes in her apartment.

Luke looked Felicity up and down, and he knew the way she was casually shifting her body was to subtly show it off to him. Whether this display was to seduce Luke or flaunt what he was missing, Luke didn't know.

But he could definitely work with this.

"Well, it's nice to see you haven't been too devastated during this unfortunate turn of events," Luke grinned appreciatively at the outfit. "I know it must be hard for you to be apart from me."

Felicity crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe, "Aren't you arrogant this afternoon?"

"No, I said that because I know our separation has been unbearable for me. Arrogance would be saying that if we weren't in a fight and you greeted me wearing that, I'd be having you against the door right now."

"It's no one's fault but your own that you're not."

"So, you admit you still want me. That's a relief."

Felicity scowled, unhappy how he had turned things around on her, "Get out of my doorway, Luke."

"No, I'm not leaving," Luke replied confidently. "And I don't think you want me to leave either."

Felicity raised an eyebrow. Shepushed a button on her side of the wall, and the door quickly slid shut. Luke shoved his right arm in the doorway at the last second, and the heavy metal pinned it against the door frame.

Luke smiled as the door recognized the obstruction and quickly slid back open, releasing his arm. He stood there, grinning at Felicity as she glowered at him.

"You turned the sensors on your prosthetic to zero, didn't you?"

"I'm not ready for this conversation to be over," Luke lowered his arm. "If speaking to you means I have to shove my hand between a few doors, then so be it."

"You know, the sentiment would be more flattering if you had turned your pain sensors to 100 rather than nothing."

Luke flipped open his wrist control panel, cranked the sensor dial to maximum, and held his arm back in the doorway.

"Close it again," Luke ordered.

Felicity rolled her eyes, "This isn't mating season, Luke. You're not going to wow me with a show of strength, then drag me back to your apartment where I present myself for breeding."

Luke shifted, "Felicity, after two weeks without even a hello… I'm not sure I can handle that sort of image."

Wrong move.

Fury burned in Felicity's eyes as she suddenly gripped Luke's tunic, and wretched him forward with a strength that actually surprised Luke. He stumbled into her apartment, struggling to gather his bearings as Felicity slammed the door button to shut.

"This isn't a game, Luke!" Felicity roared when the door was closed. "I'm not one of your bimbos who you can flash a few smiles at and they fall to your feet in reverence! By the Gods, Luke! Do you even get why I'm so mad?"

"Of course, I get it," Luke said calmly, bowing his head. This conversation had to be serious; no more eyes roaming lustfully over Felicity's body. "I understand why you're mad at me. I shouldn't have withheld the truth from you, and I'm sorry."

"Oh, you're sorry? Well, that changes everything!"

"What do you want from me, Felicity? I can't bring your brother back from the dead."

"I'm not expecting you to."

"Then tell me what you want!"

"What I want?" Felicity roared. "What I want? I'll tell you what I want!"

Felicity grabbed Luke's arm and dragged him to her living room where three things sat neatly on her coffee table: a bracelet, a blaster, and an urn. She had definitely planned on letting him in.

"First, I want you to take this stupid bracelet back!" Felicity chuckled the kyber crystal bracelet at Luke, whose Force Sensitive relaxes ensured he caught it no problem. "I mean, are you serious, Luke? Your dad slices my back with a saber, and you give me that? Give it to Ben! He wants it!"

"I'm not giving Ben a Sith crystal," Luke didn't acknowledge the fact he learned about her scar nearly a year after giving her the crystal. "Felicity, please-"

"Two, I want you to look at this," Felicity picked up the blaster off the table. It was the blaster she always carried on her, no matter how many times she needed to repair it. "An Imperial issue, NN-14 blaster presented to Brendan Rhiaon and bequeathed to me upon his death per his request. The day he gave me this, he changed my life. In that moment, he turned me from a simpleton to a soldier, he chose my path for me… and Tyla chose his."

"Felicity-"

"Third," Felicity didn't pick up the urn on the table. She had too much respect for it to wave it around carelessly… though hadn't been bothered by waving around a blaster in Luke's face. "Look at that urn… That tiny urn, barely bigger than a travel shampoo bottle. You know why it's so small? Because he stood right above the most powerful bomb, the one that had been designated to kill him specifically to become a symbol of the Empire's cause. Have you ever heard the details of the Bombing of Faclov? How the blood literally ran in the streets and the air smelled of roasted flesh… Like… barbeque puffer pig. You know, I throw up anytime I smell cooked swine?"

Luke wanted to mention that he didn't partake in any swine based food after watching the Rancor eat that Gamorrean. He abstained from the comment.

"You want to know what they found of Brendan?" Felicity asked. "Guess."

"I'm not going to play that game, Felicity," Luke said calmly.

"His comlink was found three blocks away, smashed beyond repair. His weapons belt with his blaster – this blaster – was found hanging from a tree next to Antilles Fine Imports. His dog tags were found lying on top of Sergeant Myec – the man who set off the bombs – who was so horribly mangled they had to match him to his dental records."

Luke found he had nothing to say.

Still Felicity continued, "Brendan's arm was found in a nearby alley, identified as him by a tattoo of the word Felicity,which was followed by my date of birth. I didn't even know he had that tattoo."

"That's why you got one of his name?" Luke asked.

Felicity nodded and looked away. Luke could feel the shift in her mind; something dark, stormy, and painful was left.

"You don't have to say it," Luke said gently. What he wouldn't give to just take her in his arms at the moment and make her sorrow go away.

She looked up at him with tears in her eyes, "Yes, I do."

A tender look on his face, Luke took a step forward and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay, Sweetheart," Luke fought the urge to wipe away the tears in her eyes. "You can tell me."

"What they found…" Felicity's voice shook as she struggled to get the words out. She cleared her throat and tried again, "Two feet away from the X he stood on… The X that set his death sentence, Brendan's helmet was found… With his head still inside."

Something lurched inside of Luke.

"His head and his arm is all they could recover," Felicity's breath hitched. "They made his most precious features something sickening. Those arms that held me when I cried, those loving eyes, the carefree smile, the hair he was way too proud to maintain… I'll never hear his voice again, calling me Shortstack as pulls me into a headlock during the most inappropriate occasions. I'll never hear his laugh, hold him in my arms, introduce him to the man I choose to spend my life with, have him give me away at my wedding, put my newborn in his arms. He was more than my brother, he was my father and my best friend. And Tyla took him from me."

"I understand exactly how you feel, Felicity."

"No, you don't," Felicity sneered. She pointed at urn, "That's all that left of him, Luke. All that's left of my brother. Look at it. Look at it and imagine that was all you had left of Leia. Can you imagine the pain I went through? To see the person who raised you murdered in a horrifying display?"

Luke looked her straight in the eyes and said, "When I was nineteen, I came home to find my Aunt and Uncle – the people who loved and raised me – as charred skeletons on my front door."

Felicity fell silent.

"You forgot that story, didn't you?"

Felicity nodded.

"They tried to escape, you know?" Luke continued. "One of them was on their hands and knees, trying to crawl away. The other on their back, having made it to freedom, but could not escape the flames. Spread eagle but in agony… So, yes, Felicity, I know what it's like."

Felicity chewed her lip, pondering his words. Then she took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes.

"I am truly sorry for your loss, Luke… But do you remember the first time you told me that story?"

Luke winced, "When you told me about Brendan's death."

"That's when you should have told me," Felicity said. "I'll concede that I kind of understand you not telling me the night we made love… that night already had enough soul bearing confessions, and the two of us were so aroused, you could smell the pheromones. But you didn't tell me when you should have."

"Felicity, I will not apologize for not being the one to tell you. Tyla's past as an Inquisitor isn't my secret to reveal. Don't you understand? If the Republic discovers who she is, she'll be executed, likely without a trial. No one got to execute Darth Vader or the Emperor… An Inquisitor is the next best thing."

"Maybe she should be executed for her crimes."

"No," Luke shook his head.

"Tyla killed 2,147 people in 2.38 seconds."

"And I killed 1,148,309 people in 5.94 seconds," Luke snapped. "What makes my action good and hers evil? We both killed without distinction. Innocents died by both our hands… yet the history books will call me a hero and her a villain. I won't stand for that. She was forced into that role without choice as a child. Now that she's an adult who knows better, she deserves to get a second chance at life."

"Second chances," Felicity scoffed. "No one deserves a second chance. You are who you are, and what choices you make is because of that. You don't get a do over for being that person."

"I don't believe that. Han Solo can turn from a smuggler to a war hero. Lando Calrissian betrayed his friends, then fought to the death for them. Zena Halcorr was a slave owner and became one of the most successful underground slave liberators in the Galaxy. Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader and back to Anakin. Even you went from an Imperial stooge to shooting Vader in the chest. Everyone can change."

"So, that's how you think I should live life? Forgetting the horrible crimes people commit? Because, what? They thought they were doing good? My father thought he was doing good. So did Vader. So did Tyla. But still what they did was evil."

Luke sighed, "I'm not asking you to forget, but simply decide that you're strong enough to stand up and say, 'I forgive you.'"

"So, now I'm weak?" Felicity shot.

"That's not what I'm saying!"

"Then what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that Tyla is being the bigger person and saying she's sorry.

"I can't do it, Luke. I won't do it!"

Luke put his head in his hands, trying to keep his temper, "Why do you find it so hard to forgive people?"

"Why do you find it so easy?" Felicity shot.

"It's never been easy!" Luke roared.

Something had finally broken inside of him, and Luke found himself fully angry with Felicity Rhiaon for the first time. Fear flashed in Felicity's eyes, and she took a step back from him. Even she could feel the Dark Side crackling in the air as Luke lost it.

The couple stood there, staring at each other, burning blue irises battling with teary hazel orbs. Their heavy breathing was in harmony as Felicity watched Luke like he was an animal about to strike. He knew he needed to relax, to back down, and not give into the Dark Side. But this was a rage that had been building for years as he took abuse after abuse over his decisions to stand by Vader and Tyla and even the troublemaking Cade Ren.

"You think it's been easy to forgive?" Luke snapped. "You think it's been easy to step back and say I can move on from this? To reach out to my father with love and trust? He cut off my hand!"

Luke held up his artificial appendage.

"Do you know what it's like to have your hand cut off?" he shot. "It's like what happened to your back… but worse. A blinding white-hot pain shooting through your body. The laser going through your bone, the cauterizing of the wound, that severing of your nerves and sudden loss of feeling. That's even not considering the aftermath and recovery. The look on Leia's face when she first saw my hand was just gone. The horror on Han's when he learned why I wear this glove. The meetings I had to attend in the Rebellion to make sure that I could still fly… that moment when I had to give up my command to Wedge. The awkwardness between Nalto and I when he tried to bond over the fact that Vader had ruined both our hands. The well-intentioned but still painful time they sent this other pilot to talk to me about it… Andar or something, who also had a false hand that he had been forced to amputate himself."

Luke clenched his metal fist tightly.

"Then there's the prosthetic… those fittings I went through. The times I heard the other Rebels whispering that if I wasn't the poster boy for the Rebellion, they wouldn't have paid for this, and Force knows the poor farmboy I was, would never have been able to afford the prosthetic. Then there's the whole Phantom Limb Phenomenon, or whatever it's called. I don't like to talk about, but there are times where I wake up and I think I feel my real hand attached to my wrist. And there's the shame of having this hand… I remember the first time I put on this glove, after my hand had been shot saving Han from Jabba. It was only supposed to be on my hand until I could get my hand fixed… but it became a part of my identity, hiding this piece of metal that isn't me."

Felicity suddenly grabbed his hand, clasping both of her own around it, "It is you, Luke. I don't care if it's metal instead of flesh, it's still you."

"But you do care," Luke shot. "In my office, you didn't want me to touch you with that hand. For the first few months we knew each other, you avoided my hand as much as possible. And every time we make love, I have to be careful not to hurt you… I did that once with a partner. She broke up with me over it. I apologized many times, but she never wanted to risk it again."

Felicity closed her eyes but said nothing.

"I have my left hand," Luke shrugged, "and yes, it's my dominant hand, but… my hand's gone, Felicity. Gone."

She took a deep breath and released his hand. Immediately, he brought it to her face and stroked her cheek.

"I'll never get to use that hand, Felicity, to stroke your cheek… run a thumb over these beautiful lips," Luke did the actions with his mechanical hand as he described them. "Feel the curve of your neck… the sensitivity of your collarbone… the beating of your heart."

His hand drifted down to the center of her left breast where her heart thrummed a steady beat against her ribcage.

"Luke, please stop," Felicity whimpered.

He sighed and removed his hand, bringing it back to her face, "There's so many things I'll never get to touch… I'll never ruffle Ben's hair… I'll never hold my newborn with natural hands. My father took that all from me, and you know what the worst part of it was? He knew I was his son and he still did it."

"Then why did you forgive him?" Felicity asked. "Why do you put yourself through so much turmoil and choose to forgive him? To forgive everyone?"

"Because, frankly… it's exhausting to hate someone, and this world has enough darkness in it… I don't need to add to that pain."

Felicity lowered her head. Luke could sense the turmoil in her mind, the battle that was struggling to tear her apart.

"You can't do this, Luke," Felicity shook her head and pushed him back from her. "Stop trying to win me back."

"Never," Luke said firmly. "I believe in destiny, Felicity. I believe in it to cope with the idea that these pains I've endured have all been for something. And I know that you are my destiny."

"No!" Felicity snapped. "You can't just come in here, spew some pretty words, and think I'm going to fall at your feet. This isn't about me forgiving Tyla, Luke. I've made my peace with her. This is about you lying to me after you promised not to."

"I know," Luke sighed. "Felicity, please… I'm sorry. I made a mistake and I regret it, not because I lose you, but because it hurt you. I don't want to hurt you, I never intended to hurt you. That's why I didn't tell you, because you were in so much pain and I didn't want to cause you more."

"That's not an excuse."

"Nor do I want it to be… Please, Felicity." Luke took her hands in his, "I know the stories they tell of me, the way the Galaxy views me, like the character of a myth… but I'm not a myth. I'm not a God. I'm a man. A man desperately in love with you, who is going to make some stupid mistakes in his life. Believe me, I've made horrible mistakes, removing Artoo's restraining bolt, letting Ben Kenobi go off alone on the Death Star, running off to Cloud City unprepared, and so many more. I'm going to make mistakes in the future, Felicity, and some of them will involve you… but I swear to you, I will spend every waking moment making up for those mistakes and proving to you the depth of my love. Please, Felicity, let me spend my life loving you."

Tears swelled in Felicity's eyes, and Luke could sense her turmoil, how much she wanted to say yes, and yet…

"No," Felicity released his hands and turned her head away from him. "No… We need to stop this, before it's too late, before…"

And then Luke saw it in her mind, a flash of faces: Brendan, Alaric, Riz, Ji-Dan, Gunner, Diego, Bail, Obik, Biggs, and Leia.

"Before what?" Luke puzzled over the images. "What's going to happen if we continue this?"

Felicity sighed but still did not look at him, "The same thing that's happened to everyone I've cared about… Sooner or later, one of three things happen to the people I love. They die… they betray me… or they abandon me…"

Luke's jaw dropped slightly, his brows knitted together as Felicity crossed her arms and took a seat on the couch.

"I wasn't meant to be loved, Luke," Felicity said bitterly. "My mother died, so did my brother, so did my father, so did Riz and Ji-Dan and Gunner and Bail and Biggs. Losing them hurt, but it didn't hurt as much as my father's betrayal… Over and over again he hurt me and betrayed me and made me feel worthless. He showed me that I wasn't worthy of love, and everyone else in my life has reinforced that point. Literally, the only person who has stayed with me this whole time has been Nils Arlos, and even then that's probably only because he would have to pay me severance. Everyone else abandoned me."

"No one abandoned you," Luke stared at Felicity from across the coffee table as she stroked the top of Brendan's urn.

"Pax abandoned me… four years together and then he told me that either I needed to move on from Brendan's death or call off the wedding. Drystan abandoned me… he sided with the track during that whole Ben fiasco, and then dumped me for being emotionally unavailable since I wouldn't tell him all of the painful things in my life when he demanded it. Obik abandoned me… He saved my freaking life, found out he was a Jedi, and ran off to Rornian without so much as a goodbye, then didn't speak to me for six years. Diego abandoned me… He was offered a position on Coruscant, you know? Better pay even, but he liked the military base on Hosnian Prime better and chose to move there instead of going in on a Coruscant apartment like we promised. Leia abandoned me… once you and Han came into the picture, that was it for our friendship."

"That's not true. You and Leia just grew apart."

Felicity's eyes narrowed, "Is that what she told you? Well, let me paint a picture of 'us' growing apart. I learn that the Empire killed my brother and Leia offers to get me into the Rebellion. I go off, but not before we promise to see each other as often as possible… The next time I see Leia is five years later via hologram on Jakku. Fair enough, she needed to keep a low profile as it couldn't be public knowledge that she was a rebel. I give her the plans, and we promise to meet up as soon as possible… Six months later, we run into each other in the hallway on a Rebel Base and are happy to see each other. Okay, sure, Leia was dealing with a lot during the aftermath, but now's my chance to see Leia and comfort each other over the death of Bail… except Han Solo comes up to her two minutes into our conversation and says that he and 'the Kid' – whom I assume was you – are waiting for her. Leia excuses herself, and promises we'll catch up in no less than two months."

Felicity sighed heavily, and Luke had an uneasy feeling.

"Two and a half years later," Felicity continued,"I hear Leia's in the control room on the Hoth Base, which I am passing through for the night. I go to see her immediately and we're happy, and Leia asks permission to leave her station to catch up with me. It's granted but first I have to check in with my commanding officer. I tell her to wait right here and I'll be right back. I return, and Leia's in the hallway screaming at Han Solo that she'd rather kiss a Wookiee. Han Solo storms away, and I timidly approach her making some joke about Solo to break the tension. Leia tells me that she's sorry but she needs to go rant at Luke for a few minutes as he's the only person who understands how frustrating Han Solo is. She promises to come hang out with me a little later, so I go to my assigned bunk, unpack, and wait."

"This was the night we were supposed to go to dinner together, right?" Luke recalled Diego's story.

"I met with Diego when I got off the transport. I totally planned on blowing off my blind date to hang out with Leia."

"And you got mad about me not showing up," Luke teased.

Felicity smiled, then immediately dropped it as if her lips were betraying her face, "Pretty soon, I hear what's happened to you and Han, and I go to see Leia. She tries to act strong, but I remind her of how she comforted me with Brendan. She breaks down and cries in my arms. Then she says words that I will never forget, 'Felicity, I can't lose Han and Luke… I don't have anyone else in the Galaxy but them.' …And that was the moment I knew that Leia viewed our friendship as over… She had traded me in for a Jedi and a Smuggler, and Felicity Rhiaon was nothing more than a memory."

Luke didn't know what to say; he had never questioned the odd friendship between Leia and Felicity. And he had never imagined that forming their little family of Rebels during the war had involved Leia abandoning her childhood best friend.

"I'm sorry, Felicity," Luke slowly sat down on the couch.

He hesitated and placed a hand on her back. Felicity closed her eyes, but made no move to stop him. Gently using his real hand, he traced his fingertips along her spine scar.

"That wasn't the last time I saw Leia, but I never fooled myself when I did," Felicity said. "I found out about the whole twin and Vader thing via the press conference you inexplicably held. Luke… why the Hell did you hold a press conference to announce that?"

"Leia said we had to tell the public before someone else figured it out," Luke shook his head in mild amusement. "Then we could publicly acknowledge we were siblings, and explain where my sudden inheritance came from."

"Makes sense. At first, I feared the whole Leia is the secret spawn of Vader thing… but I got used to it because I knew what kind of relationship they had had. I ran into Leia a month after the announcement, and we had awkward discussions about how we were both now engaged… and Leia was pregnant out of wedlock. I remember teasing her that Bail would have been so proud. At the end of our discussion, we promised to catch up some time, and promised to invite each other to our weddings… Except I never received an invitation."

"Felicity, they only had about twenty people at the wedding," Luke said. "It was more a Han had to marry Leia as quickly as possible before he ruined her campaign for Senator… and I killed him for impregnating my sister in an Ewok village."

"Wait, is that where it happened?"

"I would rather not discuss my best friend impregnating my sister."

"Sorry."

"So, did you and Pax invite Leia to your wedding?" Luke asked.

"She declined the invitation in favor of some conference she easily could have skipped," Felicity shrugged. "…I didn't even bother to tell her when I broke off my engagement. We saw each other a few more times after that, but we weren't friends anymore. Slowly, I watched my life fall apart: Diego moved, Pax and I broke up, and slowly my Rebel friends dropped out of contact. I got an apartment, had my job, went on business trips, dated occasionally, and just went on with life. Nobody noticed I didn't have an emergency contact. Nobody noticed that I ordered in and heated up frozen premade meals because I didn't know how to cook. Nobody noticed that I only had sex to obtain pleasure to fill the emptiness inside of me, forgetting what it even meant to make love. I would wake up every day and just feel… nothing. I took up running to connect with the outside world, but I would run through the crowds, surrounded by people and I would just feel… so alone. Most nights, I cried myself to sleep, and repeated the empty daily cycle all over again the next morning. For six years, I existed, but I didn't live."

Luke's heart broke at the confession. Felicity Rhiaon was so strong and confident; he never dreamed that she had lived such a sorrow-filled existence.

"And then…" Felicity whispered. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes, "I met you."

Luke frowned, "Felicity…"

She lifted a hand and stroked his cheek. Her hand stilled, like she had just remembered she was still mad at him, and Felicity lowered her hand.

"Leia and I got trapped in an elevator alone for an hour," Felicity continued. "It was the first time we had been together in years. We talked about the old times, and the day we messed up with the elevator and met Vader. We talked about her family, and all the things you lot had accomplished. Then we got on the subject of the upcoming Tenth Anniversary of the Battle of Yavin celebration. I joked with her that I was mad I never got a medal in the original ceremony, and Leia got the idea to give the medals to Diego, Wedge, Chewbacca, myself, and the others posthumously. A few weeks later, Leia contacts my office and arranges this whole event. Then the fateful day comes, and I tease Leia that it feels like just yesterday we were promising to hook up with each other's brother, and she says she suddenly has this great idea. Then she grabs me by the arm and drags me over to you, and… the rest is history. I find the greatest man who I have ever met, and fall madly in love with him."

Luke smiled warmly and wrapped an arm around Felicity's waist. She relaxed slightly, and leaned into his embrace.

"You filled all those empty parts of my life," Felicity's voice shook as he stroked her hair. "You're there, just a few floors above me and spend time with me every day. You noticed I didn't have an emergency contact and you're so upset over the thought of me being hurt that you happily take the job. You go running with me, and I no longer feel alone in the crowd. You teach me how to cook, and join me when I eat out every morning."

"I guess that's one habit I couldn't break you of," Luke teased.

Felicity gave a small smile, but that quickly fell, "And… you showed me… maybe even for the first time, what it is to make love. Slowly and tenderly, fast and furious, vanilla and boring, spicy and kinky, but no matter how or where we have sex, I feel like we're truly making love. And I do love you, physically, emotionally, mentally, with all of my being… And I- I…"

She started to cry.

"Luke, I can't lose you," Felicity sobbed, burying her face into his chest. "I can't do it, not this time, not after knowing what it's like to truly be in love. If I had you and lost you, this time I wouldn't survive. I couldn't go back to that life I had before. I was on the track for either dying from the emptiness of that life or losing myself to become bitter and dark like… not quite to the extent of Vader but maybe more like… like Phasma. That's what I would face again. If I ever lost you, Luke, I would either die or become Phasma. I can't live either of those lives, Luke, so please, please let's stop… because I can't go through death, betrayal, or abandonment with you. Please, Luke, please."

"Felicity, stop," Luke held either side of her face and forced her to look at him. "Stop. We don't need to do this."

"Yes, we do."

"No. And I'm not letting you go; not ever. Okay? I showed you what real love is, and you also showed me. I never dreamed of obtaining this depth of love, but I've captured my heart, Felicity Rhiaon. For now and forever."

"But Luke-"

"No buts," Luke placed a finger on her lips. "Okay? We don't need to do this, to cause this pain over wanting to prevent, what? This very same pain. You love me, and I love you, and that's the end of it."

"Luke, please," Felicity whispered. "Everyone I love has either died, abandoned me, or betrayed me. I couldn't survive it if you did too."

"Then I won't," Luke declared. "I can prevent all three of those things."

Felicity raised an eyebrow, "Even death?"

"…That one might be a little tricky, but maybe more the route of do whatever it is Yoda and Obi-Wan did to retain their forms. I'm not sure if Non-Force Sensitives could see a Force Ghost, but hopefully I have a long time to figure that all out."

Felicity sighed, and shifted her head to rest against his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart.

Luke wrapped his arms tightly around her and pressed a kiss to her forehead, "Felicity Rhiaon, I truly, deeply love you, and if you'll have me to share in that love, I swear to you that I will never betray you."

"I know you won't," Felicity murmured. "Death or betrayal isn't what I'm worried about… It's abandonment."

His hand reached out and cupped her cheek. Luke eased her head up to look him in the eye.

With unbroken eye contact, and a quiver in his voice, Luke Skywalker vowed, "Felicity Rhiaon, I will never abandon you."

Felicity took a shaky breath as the truth of his words shone through, "Promise?"

Luke bowed his forehead against her own, "Promise."

Felicity released a breath it looked like she didn't know she had been holding back. Luke smiled, his thumb stroking away the tears running down her cheeks. Felicity closed her eyes and took another cleansing breath. When she opened them, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his.

Savoring the taste that had denied to them for two weeks, Luke and Felicity melted under each other's touch. His free hand buried its way in her hair while the other continued to cup her cheek. He used both holds to pull her into him as close as possible. Felicity's right hand gripped the same bunch of shirt she had grabbed when she had dragged him into her apartment. This time the grip wasn't of anger, but a desperate need to draw him in as close as possible. She moaned as her left hand clasped the back of his neck, her fingers swirling around the short hairs.

Taking a chance, Luke slid his tongue into her mouth and stroked the sensitive roof. The pleasure was too much for Felicity, and she broke away. Luke groaned when he felt her lips leave his and tried to recapture them, but Felicity used her hand on his chest to firmly hold him back.

"I'm still mad at you, you know," Felicity panted, trying her best to look angry, but it came off as rather adorably grumpy. "You don't just get to jump back in to heavy petting and passionate sex."

"Well, I'm more than happy to work my way back," Luke nipped on her collar bone.

Felicity pushed him away, and Luke gave her an innocent grin.

"Down, boy," Felicity ordered.

"I'm sorry, but you dressed specifically in a way to turn me on."

"No, I didn't."

"Admit it, you did."

"Alright, I did," Felicity chuckled, lifting a hand to stroke his cheek. Her hand paused halfway across his skin and she frowned, "You didn't shave today."

"Oh… no, I didn't," Luke pulled back and awkwardly rubbed his jaw.

"Don't tell me you need a woman in your life to ensure you're keeping proper hygiene."

"Felicity," Luke chastised.

"Sorry, right. I forgot. Don't tell me you need a partner of either gender in your life to ensure you're keeping proper hygiene."

"That's not what I… Never mind," Luke shook his head. "And no, I don't need you to remind me to shave. In fact, I was thinking about maybe growing out a beard."

Felicity raised an eyebrow, "You're not growing a beard."

Luke frowned, "Why not?"

"Because I say so."

"It's my body, Felicity."

"Seeing as we're in a physically intimate relationship, I think I do have some say regarding a least a few of your body parts. But don't worry, equal opportunity, you have say in some of mine as well."

Luke stared at her, "I'm not sure if I agree with that notion."

"Too bad for you," Felicity smirked.

"I don't understand. Do you think I wouldn't look good with a beard? Should I wait a few more years until I look a little more mature and it would suit my face better?"

"No, I'm saying that I've had partners in the past with facial hair, and decided I don't like the feeling. So, if you ever want to kiss me again, you're going to stay clean shaven. Understood?"

Luke scowled, "Okay, that's not fair. I won't grow a beard, if you don't want me to, but you can't say things like that after explicitly telling me to stop kissing you."

Felicity grinned, "Come on, Luke, by this point, you know exactly what you've gotten yourself into with dating me."

"Well, I can always hope that someday you won't want to spend every waking moment messing with people."

"Yeah, don't hold your breath on that on."

Luke shook his head, "I suppose, I'll redirect my efforts back into the whole getting you to believe in destiny thing."

Felicity sighed and pulled back from him.

"I love you, Luke," Felicity said. "But you need to understand that I'm never going to view the idea of destiny with more than raised eyebrows. To me it's all just a logical sequence of events, with the occasional random thing thrown it. Believe me, I've tried not to be this way, but I can't do it. I can't find it in myself to believe something like my brother's entire purpose was to die so that I could steal the plans to the Death Star so that some farm kid could get his sorry butt off Tatooine."

Luke replied, "And I can't believe that all of that wasn't part of a plan to save the Galaxy from the Empire, find Han and Leia, and led me to you."

"And I respect that, but I can't bring myself to agree."

"Then where does leave us?"

Felicity smiled, "At a compromise."

Luke frowned questioningly at her as Felicity put a hand on his cheek. As Felicity gave a happy sigh, Luke placed his hand over hers.

"Luke, we can make this work," Felicity pressed her forehead against his. "And do you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because I will never believe in destiny… but I'll always believe in you. I know that we love each other, and that what we have is special. So, no matter what comes our way, we'll always be at each other's side, keeping each other from harm."

Luke smiled, "Always?"

"Always," Felicity whispered. "I will always believe in you."

Gently, Luke lifted his hand and stroked her cheek. Then he pulled her in for a passionate lingering kiss.

"Oh, I have missed kissing you," Felicity sighed in contentment when Luke finally broke away. "Even if you are all scruffy."

"Not as much as I've missed kissing you, and forget about the beard for now. I'll shave it off later, but right now I need your taste on my lips."

Luke pulled her in for another fervent kiss.

After a minute of reacquainting each other with the lips they had missed so much, Felicity pulled back from Luke.

"But if Tyla ever makes one disparaging comment about my brother, or jokes about his death," Felicity warned, "I am so going to kick her ass."

"Deal," Luke chuckled, pulling her back to his lips.

---

1 Year, 6 Months, 4 Days

Luke was honestly surprised he didn't just collapse at the front door of his apartment and sleep face first on the carpet that night. It was two in the morning, and even the droids didn't bother to come greet him. He had just returned from three and a half very busy weeks on Rornian, and was glad to finally be home. The only downside to his late arrival was that it meant he couldn't see Felicity until the morning, but the sooner he got to sleep, the sooner he would wake up and see her again.

Speaking of Felicity… As he entered his bedroom, stripping off his clothes and picking out a pair of pyjama pants, he called Felicity's message box on his comm.

"Hey, Sweetheart, I just got home," Luke said in his recording. "I decided to go straight to your inbox so I didn't wake you up. You know, you look so beautiful while you sleep. I'm fine, my trip went well, but I wish you had been there with me. I swear I only lived for those nights you commed me. Especially the night you wore that sexy little purple thing. I can't wait to see that in person, and of course seeing you. I'm going to take a shower now, and then go to bed. I love you, Sweetheart. I'll see you in the morning."

Luke took a quick shower.Then he toweled off, blow dried his hair, and pulled on his pyjama pants.

He was in the middle of brushing his teeth when he sensed the presence enter his apartment. Luke was surprised at the familiar Force Signature, but not endangered. He made no attempt to hurry up his bedtime routine as his guest waited for him.

Luke had a warm smile on his exhausted face when he entered the bedroom and found Felicity Rhiaon sitting on his bed, in a nightgown.

"Hey," Luke said softly, announcing his presence.

Felicity smiled, "Hey."

She immediately stood up and crossed the room to his waiting arms. He pulled her in for a tender kiss, and warm, loving embrace.

"I missed you so much," Luke murmured as he leaned back in for another kiss. "Three and half weeks is too long to be apart from you. I've been craving the flavor of your kiss. I forgot how good it tasted."

"Oh Luke," Felicity sighed. "There are just some things you can't replicate through a view screen. Not that I was complaining the nights we tried."

"No, you certainly weren't complaining," Luke chuckled, finally breaking away. He wrapped her arms around her and held Felicity close, "So… you broke into my apartment."

"You gave me the passcodes," Felicity reminded. "Besides, I just missed you so much, and when I heard you had come home-"

"I'm sorry that my message woke you."

"I wasn't asleep, Luke. I've had trouble sleeping the last week and was wide awake when you called. Then I saw you left me a message and heard you were home, so I thought I'd come up."

"Oh, Felicity," Luke groaned. Why did it have to be two in the morning? "I want nothing more than to make love to you right now, but I'm sorry, Sweetheart. I'm so exhausted. I just had my flight from Rornian, and this morning I had a big thing with the contractors over the medical center when they apparently somehow mixed up the designs with a different project they've been hired for. Then I had Reine on me about budget overages, then Shar'vida going on about seeds and bulbs and environmental conditions about the Meditation Gardens, Zena about taking a group to Illum to build lightsabers, Gavyn debating what age Miri should be allowed to use an actual lightsaber in training, Obik talking to Lor San Tekka about opening a Church of the Force in Temple Village, Alyla asking about what ages Younglings should be made into Padawans, Brinna and Tyla had a tiff about Tyla's Imperial past, and Cade and his lot were causing their usual trouble, dragging poor Jake into the middle of it-"

"Luke!" Felicity pressed her fingers to his lips. "I'm not here to make love to you."

He blinked, "…Oh."

Felicity laughed and pressed her body against him, "I mean, I would love to, but you're right, we're both exhausted."

"So… why are you here? Not that I don't want you here," Luke was quick to add. "I mean, I do. I really do. Have I mentioned I love you? I'm going to kiss you."

Felicity laughed as he pressed a frantic kiss to her mouth, "You are such a dork when you get flustered. But it's okay, I find it adorable."

"Adorable and dork are not very high on the list of words I want you to call me."

"Fine, you sexy stud," Felicity teased. "I came up here because like I said, I've been having troubles falling asleep, and I thought maybe… can I sleep with you tonight? I mean actual sleep. We'll have sex first thing in the morning, but for tonight, I just want to sleep in your arms."

Luke smiled, took her by the wrist, and led her to the bed as he used the Force to pull back the covers.

"If it will help you sleep, then by all means, Miss Rhiaon," Luke pulled her into bed with him, "please join me. There's plenty of room."

He smoothed the blankets over them and used the Force to turn out the lights. Oh yes, it felt so right to have Felicity Rhiaon back in his arms.

"Thank you, Master Skywalker," Felicity snuggled up against him, her head resting on his chest as his arms automatically wrapped around her.

Luke pressed a kiss to her forehead, "Anytime."

---

1 Year, 8 Months, 22 Days

"Luke, Sweetheart, I'm back," Felicity's voice yelled from the doorway. "Threepio, can you help me with the groceries?"

"Coming, Miss Felicity!" Threepio called back. He nodded at Luke, who had been tinkering with him, "Pardon me, Master Luke, but your Beloved calls."

"Of course," Luke chuckled, flipping closed Threepio's control panel. He smiled at Felicity as she and Artoo – heavily laden with groceries – entered the living room, "Well, what do we have here? It appears a beautiful woman has decided to grace us with her presence. I wonder what we have done to deserve this, Threepio?"

Felicity grinned in amusement as Threepio's head spun between herself and Luke, trying to work something out.

"Pardon me, Master Luke, but…" Threepio's voice was positively confused as he took the groceries from Felicity, "that is Miss Felicity Rhiaon, your Beloved. You have been courting her for nine months and seventeen days, and coupling with her for eight months and twenty-two days."

"Of course, Threepio," Luke chuckled, pulling Felicity into his embrace for a kiss. "My mistake."

Felicity laughed as Threepio looked at them once more and then entered the kitchen with Artoo, still clearly confused as to what had just happened.

"Well, I didn't know your droids were so informed about our sex life," Felicity shook her head. "I didn't realize that Threepio had been keeping track of the days."

"Neither did I."

"I wonder if he's also been keeping a tally of how many times we've made love, because we sometimes do it more than once a day."

"Let's not find out," Luke smiled, his arms still lovingly wrapped around her. "Grocery store was okay? Artoo didn't give you any problems?"

"None. He was on his best behaviour," Felicity replied. "But that also might be because he just finished a six month ban from that place and didn't want to get banned immediately afterwards. You know, give him a few weeks before causing another ruckus. Actually, they were having a sale on Jawa juice, and I got an idea."

"Oh?"

"I am going to cook us dinner tonight," Felicity declared, "and they are all going to be recipes native to Tatooine."

Luke looked surprised, "Felicity, wow, are you sure?"

"Of course. We got all the stuff, and Artoo has all the recipes. It's going to be just like the food you had growing up."

"Wow… I don't know what to say."

Felicity's smile dropped, "You're a little afraid of eating what I'm going to make."

"Our relationship is built on honesty."

Felicity shook her head, "I'm sure it won't be that hard, and even if it is terrible, you won't say a thing about it."

"Oh really?" Luke raised an eyebrow. "And why wouldn't I?"

"Because I'm really good at sex, and can withhold it from you."

"You really should have been named Lysistrata."

"Probably," Felicity shrugged. "So, what have you been up to this afternoon?"

"Tinkering with Threepio. You know, I think I might be able retrieve his erased memories."

"Have you considered that might not be a good thing?"

"It's passed my mind, but to be honest… I really just want to know why Threepio is programmed not to impersonate a deity."

Felicity frowned, "What?"

"It's not a standard protocol to for a droid to have, and certainly wouldn't be something you can find in the junk to harvest as a slave," Luke explained. "That means that Threepio was specifically given this protocol by someone, which probably means that there was an incident where he did pretend to be a God."

"You're right, I do need to know that," Felicity said. "Hey, ten credits say Artoo's the reason it happened."

"You're on," Luke shook on it.

There was a knock on the door.

Luke and Felicity looked at each other.

"Expecting someone?" Felicity asked.

Luke shook his head.

"Alright, you get it and I'll help the Droids with the groceries." Felicity shot a look back at the kitchen, "Truth be told, I don't trust Artoo with produce anymore."

"Do I even want to know?"

"Probably not."

"Alright then," Luke quickly kissed her and headed for the door. He checked the security camera panel next to the door and found the building manager was waiting outside. Quickly he opened the door, "Hello, Osto."

"Hello, Master Skywalker," Osto Foss bowed his head. "Is Miss Rhiaon here?"

"Sure, why?" Luke didn't like the idea that someone would come looking for his girlfriend at his apartment.

"I've been trying to get a hold of her for the past few days and she hasn't been home," Osto explained.

"Oh, sorry, my comm's broken and been in the shop all week," Felicity called from the kitchen, and Luke allowed Osto in. "What's going on, Osto?"

"I need to know if your apartment is alright," Osto answered as Felicity walked back into the living room.

"Uh…" Felicity frowned. "It should be fine."

"So, it wasn't one of the units affected by the flooding?"

"There was flooding?"

"Yeah, a couple of units on your floor flooded. There were signs posted on all the walls of your floor. Haven't you been down there?"

"I honestly can't say I have," Felicity looked surprised. "Luke, do you mind if I go check?"

"Of course. Go on," Luke urged.

As Felicity and Osto exited the apartment, Luke frowned. When had Felicity last been to her apartment? Because his was so much bigger and luxurious – it was a penthouse on Coruscant – Felicity and Luke had been spending all of their time at his apartment.

But before he could ponder it any further, he heard a loud crashing from the kitchen.

"R2-D2! Look at what you have done!" Threepio exclaimed.

Luke sighed. This is why he didn't let the droids put away groceries.

---

"Tah-dah!" Felicity set the serving plate down on the table. "Lablabi, Mloukhia, and Shakshouka. Just like you're back on Tatooine, but instead of having dinner with a grouchy man yelling at you about moisture farming, you get to eat with an attractive woman wearing a certain red dress I know you like so much."

"Felicity, you have outdone yourself," Luke grinned taking a seat, the dishes smelling positively delicious.

"Oh, and we're having Samsa for dessert," Felicity added.

"Marry me," Luke said flatly.

Felicity laughed as she took a seat next to Luke.

She had gone the whole nine yards for their dinner with candlelight, soft music, and even wine from Tatooine which was extremely rare. And as they were about to discover… there was a reason.

"Ugh!" Felicity groaned as she and Luke pushed their glasses away, trying to get the taste out of their mouths. "I will never be able to undrink that."

"Well, at least we can say we tried it," Luke used the Force to lift the bottle off the table and put it in the kitchen. "So how did your inspection with Osto go?"

"The apartment's fine," Felicity reported. "It's weird that I didn't notice the flooding though. How long has it been since I stayed in my own apartment?"

"I've been trying to work that out. I think it was when I went to Temple Village last week?"

"No, remember, I stayed here with Alyla and Lando… which reminds me, you owe me for that."

"They both happened to be visiting at the same time and needed a place to stay, and unfortunately Han and Leia were already having Aunt Sola stay with them in their apartment."

"Luke, they conspired!" Felicity exclaimed. "I will never be able to unhear the things I heard through that wall. Lando is apparently pretty chatty when he's getting down to business."

Luke frowned, "They were supposed to stay in separate rooms."

"Didn't mean they did, and I wasn't about to break up that party. There is not enough bleach in the galaxy to clean the image out of my eyes of those two making the beast with two backs."

"How poetic," Luke said flatly. He took a bite out of the food, "Oh, wow this is good."

"That's two you owe me then," Felicity smirked.

"Noted."

Felicity rested her head against Luke's shoulder, "So I guess that means the last time I was in my apartment was after my last Resistance mission you couldn't make."

"Rornian needed me, Felicity."

She ran a hand up his shoulder and started playing with the short hairs on the back of his neck, "I missed you that night. That bed was so cold and lonely without you."

"I think I've made that up by now," Luke kissed her hand. "Apparently, you've been sleeping in my bed for over a month."

"Wow… and we didn't even have sex quite a few of those nights. I just really like falling asleep in your arms."

Luke pressed his forehead to hers, "And I love waking up to you in them. It's truly the highlight of my day."

Felicity closed her eyes, enjoying the moment as she stroked Luke's face. Then she sighed and reluctantly pulled back, "I guess we'll have to stop doing this so much. There's no point to me paying rent on an apartment that I don't even use."

Luke paused, "No… you're right, there isn't."

Felicity frowned at the look on his face, "What?"

"I was just thinking," the idea formed in Luke's mind, "why don't you just stay here… permanently?"

"Are you asking me to move in with you?"

"Yeah. I mean think about it. We go running every morning, have breakfast, I drive you to and from work, we spend the evenings together up here, make dinner together, you have most of your clothing, makeup, and all the important things like that up here, we share the same bed every night. You even bought groceries for this place today. We're basically living together already."

Felicity grinned, "You're right. It does make sense."

"So, is that a yes?" Luke asked eagerly.

"Absolutely," Felicity kissed him.

Luke couldn't wipe the grin off his face as he kissed her over and over, savoring the taste of her lips. His hand moved slowly higher and higher.

"Ah, ah, ah!" Felicity shook her head, pulling his hand away. "Not yet, Skywalker. I spent too long cooking all of this only for it to get cold because you have desires. Now, eat up, and we can make love after dinner."

Luke tried not to look to sullen as he pulled back from Felicity. They sat there and ate dinner together without exchanging a word.

"Oh screw it," Felicity threw down her fork after several minutes. "We have a microwave."

Luke laughed as he grabbed her hand and dragged her toward the bedroom.

---

2 Years, 3 Months, 14 Days

"Mmm, we have got to go on vacation more often," Felicity moaned.

She and Luke had gone on a week-long trip to Naboo to the lake country. They were standing on the veranda, Luke's arms wrapped around Felicity as they watched the lake. The sun was just rising, the morning rays filtering through the window, bathing them in golden light.

It was the very same lake house that Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala had hidden in in the prelude of the Clone Wars. Luke and Felicity's choice of accommodation was a testament to how far their relationship had come: that Felicity was willing to spend a romantic week away with Luke in the house Anakin Skywalker had been married in.

Of course, Felicity had been so delighted to point out to Luke that he had very likely been conceived in that very building, and if not, it was at least definitely the place Anakin Skywalker lost his virginity.

That was why they weren't sleeping in the master bedroom.

"I love waking up to you every morning," Luke glided his fingers across her soft skin, glowing in the golden light dancing across the lake. "I'm going to lock this memory in my mind forever: you in my arms, bathed in rays of light. I've always loved the first ray of the sun, bringing life and hope anew to the world. In that precious moment, with a ray of light… everything is right in the Force."

Felicity shivered at the sensation of his fingers one her skin and romance of his words, "Waking up with you is my favorite part of the day. I wish I could do it every morning. Between Resistance, Emissary, and Jedi missions we don't get to do it often enough. But I could spend every morning at your side."

"You could?"

"Mmm hmm."

Luke took a deep breath to calm his nerves, "Felicity… there was another reason I wanted to bring you here, other than vacation."

Felicity frowned and looked back at him carefully, "Okay…"

Luke closed his eyes and took another deep breath. He knew that the best thing to do was just lay it all out before her.

"Felicity, someday I'm going to ask you to marry me," Luke announced. "I know we've thrown the ideas of marriage and children around casually, but now I'm pledging myself to the idea. I'm completely committed to this relationship, and I can no longer imagine spending my life without you. Now, I'm not proposing to you at this exact minute, but I'm letting you know that marriage is my endgame. If you don't see that as a future possibility, I want you to tell me now so we can end things amicably."

Felicity stared at Luke, the barrage of new information buzzing around in her mind.

"I'm sorry, what was that first part?"

"Look, I don't want to pressure you into anything," Luke assured her. He had known her long enough to know she used the whole I didn't hear you excuse as a way to avoid difficult conversations. "But this shouldn't come as that big a surprise. I'm not saying let's get married today, but I want you to know where I'm directing this relationship. Just please, promise me that you'll think about it."

Felicity took a deep breath and nodded, "Okay… I'll think about it."

"Thank you," Luke turned back to watch the sun slowly rise. He was quiet for a minute, and then said, "I just completely killed the mood, didn't I?"

Felicity laughed, "Little bit."

"Dang it."

---

2 Years, 3 Months, 18 Days

"It's nice they clear this place out for you when you visit," Felicity said as Luke paid his respects to his mother's grave.

"They have to," Luke gave a small grin as he knelt by the closed casket of Padmé Amidala. "They can't exactly say sorry, we can't let you have private time with your deceased mother because this memorial is one of Naboo's top tourist attractions."

"It could be worse," Felicity smiled. "They could charge you admission."

Padmé's casket was in the center on a platform in the circular walled gazebo type structure. The walls were black, and blue light filled the room. An image of Padmé Amidala was projected on the north wall, and as Luke knelt on the steps leading to the casket, Felicity couldn't help but see how much Luke looked like his mother.

Felicity stood off to the side, at the entrance to give Luke some semblance of privacy. Luke had always come to visit his mother's grave whenever he came to Naboo, but this was the first time he had brought Felicity with him. Felicity had visited the grave when she was a teenager working for Leia. It had been Leia's request to meet the great Nubian Queen, never suspecting it was her own mother.

Luke had spent most of the visit just talking to his mother, vaguely updating her on his life. He kept one hand on the stone of her casket, as if securing his connection to her. It was his ritual. Sometimes when he spoke to her, he could feel the Force change, like somehow a part of her was in the room with him.

He wished he had known her… the least he could do was ensure she knew him.

"And that's about everything that's new," Luke spoke to the grave. "You should see how well Ben is doing with his studies. He grows stronger in the Force every day."

"You say that like it's a good thing," Felicity joked.

Luke looked up at her. Felicity and Ben wouldn't truly start their rivalry until Luke proposed to Felicity, but their relationship had never been a smooth one. Even at that time, Ben had decided to give Felicity as much trouble as possible… and she was more than happy to give him just as much trouble back.

"Sorry," Felicity smiled. "I shouldn't interrupt."

"No," Luke grinned at her and held out his free hand. "Come."

Hesitantly, Felicity walked forward and took Luke's outstretched hand. Gently, he guided her down to kneel with him at the grave. His flesh hand remained on the casket. He would not touch his mother's grave with the hand replaced by metal after the flesh had been stolen by his father.

Felicity clasped his false hand tightly; the days of her hesitance to be touched by it were long over. The hand may be mechanical, but to her it was just as much Luke as any other part of him.

"Mother," Luke spoke to the grave, clasping Felicity's hand, "I want to introduce you to someone. This is Felicity Rhiaon. She's the woman who protected Leia from Father the day they met. Felicity also was the one who stole the plans to the Death Star, and helped me find you… But most importantly – at least in the sense of introducing her relationship to me – Felicity Rhiaon is the love of my life."

Felicity's breath caught. Luke had said such things hundreds of times before, but this time was special. This time, when he was introducing her to his mother – even if it was a casket – Felicity finally felt the weight of those words.

"I spoke to Grandfather Ruwee once, and he told me something I keep close to my heart," Luke continued speaking to his mother. "He told me that everyone gets three loves in their life. Their first love, their last love… and their true love."

Luke looked at Felicity, fear behind his eyes.

"I didn't get the pleasure of having her be my first love," Luke said, "and I know I'm not hers. But I know in my heart, not only is she my true love… but I know that I will never love another woman after her. Not after having a taste of what this means. She is my true love… my last love… and with respect to Nakari Kelen… Felicity is the only love that will ever matter."

Tears shone in Felicity's eyes. She knew his words were not for his mother, and Felicity didn't know how to handle it.

She didn't deserve Luke Skywalker. She was broken, she was angry, and she was skeptical of the mysterious Force that was the center of his very being.

But she was the love of his life.

…And he was hers.

Felicity smiled, squeezed Luke's hand, and looked at the grave.

"It's truly an honor to meet you, Senator Amidala," Felicity told Padmé. "You were something of an idol to me growing up. You gave me courage and strength… and now you've given me something even better. Love. You gave me a man who loves me fully and unequivocally, and I swear to you that I feel the same way about him."

Felicity looked over at Luke. He was smiling brightly at her, his thumb stroking the back of her hand clasped with his.

And with his eyes filled with such utter love and trust… Felicity made her decision.

Felicity looked back at the casket, "You know, your son has been keeping something from you, Senator Amidala."

Luke frowned at Felicity.

"Luke didn't tell you this," Felicity continued, "but a few days ago, your son told me that one day he's going to ask me to marry him. And I just want you to know, when that day comes…"

Felicity turned and locked eyes with Luke.

"I'm going to say yes."

---

3 Years, 3 Months, 3 Days

"And so, with great pleasure, I declare the planet of Rornian to officially be a member of the New Republic," Nils Arlos announced.

The crowd cheered and cameras flashed as Luke and Nils shook hands, posing with the datapad listing Rornian's new certification. Among the crowd was the entire Jedi Order and Emissary department, as well as some personal friends, and of course, Luke's family.

Luke could never forget how beautiful Felicity looked that day wearing her hair up, the kyber crystal bracelet, and a semi-formal dress. It was dark green, which Felicity later told him was a wink to Luke's lightsaber… even if it was the wrong shade of green.

"Now that doesn't mean we don't still have at least another year or two of paperwork," Nils grinned at Luke. "You've still got to work out a few trade agreements and establish organic population growth. In other words, someone on this planet is going to have to give birth sometime soon. Though I think I might have an Emissary to help get that in motion."

Everyone laughed as Nils winked at Felicity and she rolled her eyes, shaking her head for the cameras.

After Luke gave a short speech, the ceremony quickly concluded. People slowly started to make their way to the Meditation Gardens for the reception while reporters asked various Jedi and Emissaries for pictures and comments.

"Congratulations, Master Skywalker," Felicity sauntered towards Luke as he finished speaking to a reporter. "This must be a dream come true."

"It's only a dream because you're here with me," Luke smiled, pulling her into his arms and kissing her.

To the side, a pair of cameras flashed, capturing the tender moment for history. Luke and Felicity broke apart, startled by the interruptions.

"I hate when the cameras intrude on our moments," Luke groaned.

Felicity gave her famous one corner smirk, "Then let's make sure it's a moment to intrude on."

"With pleasure."

Felicity locked her arms around his neck, and Luke dramatically dipped her down, planting a passionate, and not quite appropriate kiss for the audience. The cameras went absolutely wild.

"Alright, knock it off, you two!" Reine yelled after a minute. "You're not leaving me to speak to all of these reporters by myself, Luke."

"Sorry, Reine," Luke chuckled as he brought Felicity back to her feet, but his arms were still tightly wrapped around her.

Reine rolled her eyes, "Geeze, you guys go at it worse than humanoid cats."

"Excuse me?"

Reine turned to see that Zena, Coria, and Nerissa – all the Zygerrians in attendance – just happened to be walking past her at that exact moment.

"My apologies, Ladies," Reine grinned, but the women didn't seem impressed.

"Oh, don't act so high and mighty, Hon," Gavyn grinned at Zena from where he had been talking to a reporter with Obik. "I can give plenty of testimony advocating the truth of Reine's words."

Obik leaned forward and squinted, "Is that a bite mark on your neck?"

Gavyn just smirked and arched a brow at Zena.

"You have no shame, do you?" Zena shook her head.

"Must run in the family," Felicity jerked her head towards the nearby treeline.

Lando Calrissian had pinned Alyla Kene up against a tree, and the two were passionately making out as if they didn't care about the dozens of reporters surrounding them.

Gavyn scowled at the sight of his sister going at it with Lando, "I need a drink."

He grabbed the very confused Obik, and dragged him towards the reception.

"Sure, when we do that we get yelled at," Felicity pressed suggestively against Luke.

"Well, I'm more than happy to do it again," Luke gave a kiss to her neck.

"Miss Rhiaon, can we get a few quotes?" a reporter called.

Felicity sighed, "Sorry, Skywalker. Duty calls."

"I'll see you in the reception."

Luke watched her go start the interview, which no doubt would eventually turn – as always – into an interview about dating the Jedi Grandmaster. Felicity enjoyed those because she liked to make up the most ridiculous rumours in them. People still thought he had a tattoo of Han's name in a very inappropriate place.

"Master Skywalker."

Luke turned and smiled when he saw an old friend make his way through the crowd.

"Lor San Tekka," Luke shook the man's hand and clapped him on the back. "I'm glad you made it."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Lor San smiled. "I must say, congratulations. You've come very far. How do you feel?"

"Like all my dreams have just come true."

"There's always something so bittersweet when they do. You have everything you want: Jedi Order, a secure home, friends, family, and – if that little show was anything to believe – a very beautiful young woman to share it all with," Lor San winked.

Luke laughed and looked back at Felicity; his heart fluttering as always at the sight of her, "I do have it all, don't I?"

"The only question now is what comes next?"

Luke stared at the woman he so loved; sharing and supporting one of the biggest moments of his life. His heart knew there was only one answer to that question.

"Actually… I have an idea."

---

3 Years, 6 Months, 10 Days

"So, can you guys come to Rornian next month?" Luke asked eagerly as Han, Leia, and Ben sat in his living room.

Han and Leia exchanged a confused look.

"Yeah, sure Kid, but… why?" Han asked.

"Han's right," Leia said. She held up a hand to shush Han when he opened his mouth to commentate the rarity of those words. "We're very proud that you've finally decided to build your house on Rornian, but you don't even break ground for two months. Why do you need us to come when you tell Felicity you're starting?"

"Maybe it's damage control," Ben said, the almost nine-year-old lounging across the loveseat by himself. "Rhiaon's not going to like you breaking up with her."

"For the last time, Ben, I'm not breaking up with her," Luke replied calmly. "You know, I'm sure the two of you would get along very well if you just spent some alone time with her."

"I'll pass," Ben rolled his eyes.

"Ben sit up, and don't roll your eyes at your uncle," Leia ordered. "And would it kill you to even try giving Felicity a chance?"

"It might," Ben shrugged. "Let's not take the risk."

"Ben!" Han snapped.

"What?" Ben moaned, "Come on, she's just another one of Uncle Luke's girlfriends. Why do I have to get to know her?"

"Felicity is not going anywhere, Ben," Luke firmly said. "Please, could you just try getting along with her?"

"She doesn't try getting along with me!" Ben exclaimed.

"Enough!" Leia ordered. "We're not having this conversation again. Ben stop disparaging Felicity, and I'll talk to Felicity again about going easier on you."

It was hard for Luke to see Ben and Felicity always fighting, but it seemed like there would never be an end to the feud. Felicity refused to back down when she felt Ben had stepped out of line, and Ben refused to give his uncle's Non-Force Sensitive girlfriend the time of day. Luke had the feeling Ben and Felicity would be much like Han and Anakin: under different circumstances they would have gotten on like a house on fire, but due to their past they would never be anything but mortal enemies.

Why did this family always have to be so dramatic?

"Now, Luke," Leia turned back to her brother, "why do you want us to come with you and Felicity?"

Luke took a deep breath, "Because I want all of you to be there. Han, Leia, Ben, the Droids, and Chewie's already agreed to come. I want- I need you to be there with me when it happens."

The Solos frowned at Luke.

"When what happens?" Han asked.

"Guys… I need your help to do something important," Luke grinned and grabbed his HoloMag reader off the table. The catalogue chip had already been inserted, and the two pages had been bookmarked. "The first step is helping me decide between this…"

Luke's reader projected the image of an engagement ring.

"And this…"

A second ring was projected.

Luke grinned at his family, "Which do you think Felicity will like better?"

The Solos were staring at Luke with open mouthed shock.

"Kid…" Han started, but couldn't find the words to continue. Luke could sense Han's disbelief through the Force.

"I'm going to take Felicity to the site of our future home, and give her one of these rings," Luke announced.

"Luke, I don't believe it," Leia's eyes were filling with tears. "Are you saying that-"

"Yes," Luke declared. "I'm going to ask Felicity to marry me."

Han and Leia were instantly on their feet, hugging, crying, and congratulating Luke. It was a moment they had waited so long for. Not just seeing Luke proposing to Felicity, but seeing Luke finally finding someone to spend his life with. It was a truly happy moment as they celebrated their family taking on a new member, and the chance to call Felicity Rhiaon their sister… and their wife.

But as Luke hugged Leia, and Han clapped him on the back, waiting for his own turn, Luke's eyes fell on Ben. He was staring at Luke, jaw dropped open, brown eyes wide, and mixed emotions pulsing through the Force. When Luke pressed into those emotions to see what Ben thought about the news, Luke's heart dropped.

Ben was utterly devastated.

---

A/N: So I've been sending out feelers to a few people on this, but I want to know the consensus. Would you guys want me to extent this group of flashbacks another chapter to delve more into Felicity's PPD? There are plans to go over some more of the major stuff a little later on – particularly the Ben/Felicity incident, and the incident we do not speak of – but if you guys want to see it, I'll extend the flashbacks one more chapter.