"Lena?" Kara called out softly, almost shy, as she stood in the doorway to the padawan's room. "Are you awake?"
The young trainee was lying in her bed in the dark, facing the wall, but Kara could sense that she was awake. Feeling Lena's frustration disrupting the Force between them, the Jedi stepped into the room and approached the bed.
"Go away," the padawan hissed. "I don't want to talk."
"You don't have to talk," Kara told her, voice quiet and gentle. "I just want to show you something."
Raising an eyebrow, Lena said nothing but grabbed a change of clothes and followed her master out into the forest. After traveling quite a ways in silence, deeper and deeper into the woods, Kara stopped them at the edge of the swamp.
"Are you coming swimming?"
Blinking away her confusion, Lena asked, "What?"
"Swimming."
"I heard you, but… where? There's no—"
"In the swamp of course," Kara chuckled.
"You mean in the giant mud puddle?" Lena asked, staring blankly. "Are you insane?"
"Perhaps," Kara conceded with a smirk. "Are you coming or not?"
Raising an eyebrow, Lena watched as the Jedi slipped into the mud, sliding into it all the way up to her shoulders. Without pressing further, Kara simply moved her arms around in the dirty water-mud-whatever-you-want-to-call-it and smiled up at her pupil. For a while, Lena just watched as her teacher waded in the mud, her feet make squelching noises under the water as she moved around. Then, when she realized that she wasn't going to get more of an encouraging invitation, she let out a sigh and jumped in, splashing mud everywhere, including on the Jedi's clean face.
Thinking her teacher would scold her for the impulsive jump and the mess that followed, Lena flinched. But all that came was the sound of Kara's bright, infectious laughter.
Lena had never really known Kara to be anything but stoic, wise, and kind. The term light-hearted didn't seem to fit. But in that moment, Lena realized, perhaps this was Kara's persona with her in their relationship as Jedi teacher and padawan. Perhaps Kara was so much more than her appearance.
A smile crept over Lena's lips as she considered this possibility, and for the first time, she couldn't help but notice – even as the woman was covered in excessive amount of mud and dirty water – how incredibly beautiful Kara was.
"I wasn't sure you'd dare to get your hair dirty," Kara finally teased, reaching up with dirty hands to try to wipe mud out of her eyes.
"Hey, listen, I've been growing this hair out a long time, okay?" Lena laughed, then leaned back and dunked her head under the surface.
Eyes wide with surprise, Kara watched as her perception of her student began to shift. Lena was more than her student. Lena was a young woman with hopes and dreams and cares and feelings and everything that Kara herself had forgotten through her own Jedi training. In all her wisdom, she'd forgotten to have fun. This was why she had invited Lena to the swamp. This was what she'd been hoping for: a light-hearted Lena, inspired by a light-hearted Kara. Just the two of them, enjoying each other's company.
"You have taught me too, young padawan," Kara chuckled good naturedly. "Much I have to learn, I see."
"I have?" Lena questioned, looking confused as she was torn out of the moment of joy and back into her training mindset.
"Of course, Lena," the blonde told her with a smile. "You've reminded me to live."
Still looking confused, Lena simply stared at her master and waited for the explanation. It didn't come. Instead, Kara simply splashed the padawan's face with mud and laughed heartily as Lena stumbled back and fell completely under the dirty water. When Kara became suspicious that Lena's hand must've gotten stuck in the mud at the bottom – Lena hadn't resurfaced yet – she reached under the water and pulled Lena up with a grin. Lena was breathless when she reached the surface.
"Hey, you saved me," the pupil commented with a smile, once she'd caught her breath.
"You would've pulled yourself free eventually," Kara noted with a shrug.
Still, the Jedi master was smiling, forgetting her training and allowing herself to enjoy the moment. Allowing herself to fully be.
"Still… Thanks," Lena said brightly, hugging Kara, this time with a tight grip.
To the Jedi's surprise, her own cheeks began to feel quite warm, even in the cold night air, as Lena tucked her forehead into the crook of Kara's neck. Slowly, the blonde's arms lifted and wrapped around her padawan, holding her close.
"I feel better now," Lena whispered, not letting go.
There was something just slightly awkward about the way Lena had yet to release her teacher from the embrace, but if Kara knew one thing, it was this: never be the first to let go of a hug. You never know how much the other person might need it.
"I'm glad," Kara whispered back, a smile once again tugging the corners of her lips.
"And…"
"And?"
"And I'm sorry…"
Not letting go, but pulling away just slightly enough to look into Lena's eyes, Kara saw tears.
"All is forgiven. Emotions are always valid, Lena. It is what we do with them that matters."
"I know. I know. And I—"
"Shh. I brought you out here to have fun, not to teach you a lesson," Kara told her brightly. "We'll discuss what you've learned tomorrow. For tonight… Relax and enjoy."
"Enjoy the swamp?" Lena teased.
"No," Kara corrected, tone suddenly serious. "Enjoy this mud pie I made you!"
With that, the Jedi grabbed for a thicker handful of mud at the edge of the swamp and playfully slapped it onto Lena's cheek, earning a shocked little squeal from the padawan. The rest of the night was spent with the two shoving each other around in the swamp, dunking each other under the water, and serving each other the largest, most disgusting 'mud pies' they could fit in their hands.
The only rules? Have fun! And no using the Force to throw the mud pies!