Chapter 9
Luke crept softly into the hotel room. Looking around, he breathed a sigh of relief. He was satisfied to see that nothing had changed. Everything in the room was exactly the way they left it. So far, they had been lucky that they had not been found. It had been a few days since he had helped Mara escape, and they had not heard a peep from her capturers. He hoped that meant they were not looking for them, but he would rather be safe than sorry. So he tried to keep a close eye on the changes going on around him.
"Mara, you in here?" he called out. He did not see her, but he could feel that she was near.
"Yeah, I'll be out in a second," came the muffled call from behind the closed refresher door.
"I was wondering where you took off to," he called back, placing the bag he was carrying on the table and emptying it of its contents. "I turned around and you were gone."
"You had food on your mind again," she told him, humor evident in her voice. "I just wonder how long it was, after I left, that you noticed I had gone."
"Haha, Mara. Maybe we should have splurged and picked up something to take with us to eat. Then my stomach would not have growled the whole walk back."
"At least I know what was on your mind then," she said, emerging from the refresher with a smirk.
Luke busied himself with the things on the table to hide his blush. He did not want to tell her that he tried the whole way back to keep his mind off the memory of the kiss they had shared. Kissing her was something that he had wondered about quite a few times lately. He tried the entire way back to the hotel not to think about the intense emotions they had stirred up.
"Thinking about food kept my mind busy," he told her instead.
"And what is it you were keeping your mind occupied for?" She asked, taking his shoulder and turning him around.
Luke looked deep into her eyes. There was no way to hide the blush that rose in his cheeks this time. Taking a deep breath, hoping what he was about to tell her would come out right. That he could tell her enough to satisfy her, but not offend her.
"Mara, I would not insult you by disclosing what direction my incorporating mind wanted to travel," he told her, only a hint of laughter in his voice. "But food was the only thing that helped." Well there goes not telling her what you were thinking, Skywalker! He yelled at himself. Mara giggled.
"I heard that," she said, giggling more at the shocked look that must have appeared on his face. "So what? You are embarrassed by that?"
Luke took another a deep breath, determined not to stick his foot in his mouth again. He was bound to knock his teeth out if he did that much more.
"I just know that I sprung my feelings on you suddenly. I would not dream of expecting anything from you that you were not ready to offer."
"I would not offer anything I was not ready for Luke. Don't forget that I can take care of myself. Sometimes you are too much of a gentleman for your own good." She looked at him, her smile turning mischievous. "What a pity though," she said. "That you tortured yourself so much when I was enjoying my train of thought."
"You were thinking about me?" he blurted out. It was still hard to believe that she could feel the same about him that he felt for her.
"About a lot of you," she said, and then clamped her hand over her mouth. They both blushed at her admission. "That kiss affected me just as much as it affected you," she finally forced out.
"Then why did you stop?" Luke asked, confused, his mix of emotions growing more intense. When she had first pulled away, he thought she had realized what she was doing and wanted to get away. However, her last statement told him that he might have been wrong about that.
"For exactly the reason I said," she told him. "It was a drafty old building, and I did not care to stay there any longer."
"But you said we needed to talk," Luke reminded her. He felt there was more that went on then what he was seeing. He was curious as to what she was thinking, but wanted desperately to not push her too far too fast.
"Yes, I did didn't I?" Mara looked uncomfortable. "There is something I need to tell you. And I think that time should be now."
"What's wrong, Mara?" Luke gestured that they sit at the table. She was obviously having a hard time with whatever she wanted to tell him, and he wanted to help her. "Mara, whatever it is, you can tell me. I never want you to feel like I expect you to do something you don't want to do."
"I know this
"Okay, because I just wanted to make sure you did," he said, and hesitantly took hold of her hand. All this was so new to him. He did not know what would be crossing the line when it came to the woman sitting across from him. "If you want to continue this or not, I will understand. I will accept whatever you decide." He paused, but when she did not say anything, he plunged ahead. "I would wait as long as I need to. I have been searching my whole life for whatever it was that would complete it. I now know that something was you. I feel like this was meant to be."
"It was," Mara whispered. She wanted him to know what she knew, but she did not want to upset him. She had no idea how he was going to react.
"What was that?" Luke asked. The look in his eyes was so concerned she wanted to do anything to get him laughing again.
"Nothing important. So, what did you get to eat this time?"
"Not exactly sure about all of it. I figured we could try something different."
"Sounds good." She was happy he had taken the hint and changed the subject. Studying her food, she decided it at least looked edible, even a bit familiar. Spearing a piece of the meat, she took the bite and chewed it. "I have had this before," she realized.
"It's pretty good. I like the cream."
"Just wait," Mara said with a smile. Slowly Luke's eyes got wide until he jumped up from the table and grabbed a glass of water.
"Oh, I guess I should have warned you," she said, taking a bit of pleasure out of his discomfort. "It's a little spicy."
Luke took another two gulps before answering her. "Yeah, just a little bit. What is it called? I have never had it before," he choked out.
"It's called Un'Agoloshii. It's dewback, with a cream sauce. Nice and sweet, with that little spicy aftertaste."
"Little?" Luke's eyes bulged at her understatement.
"It looks like this has extra cream sauce. It makes it better. Well, you should probably take smaller bites."
"I'll remember that," he said. "This is pretty good."
"I have always enjoyed it. So what's in the other bag?"
"Dessert. One of my favorites," he said, smiling, but offered no other explanation. They finished their dinner with few distractions. After the dinner was cleared away, Luke brought out the dessert dish. It was a yellowish fruit, which had a claret middle, and what looked like little white seeds throughout it. Using the knife that was included in the bag, he cut the fruit up into bite-sized pieces.
"What is this?" she asked, unsure of the strange fruit.
"It's called Sher'Rygh. Leia got me hooked on it. I think you will like it. Here try some." He took a piece and held it up to her mouth. Smiling, she slowly wrapped her lips around it. The fruit was tangy, with a burst of sweet when she bit into the seeds.
"Very good," she admitted. Taking a piece, she mimicked Luke, and fed it to him. She watched as he slowly chewed the succulent fruit. A small droplet of juice ran down his chin. He reached for a napkin, but she held his hand.
"I'll get it," she told him, reaching across and wiped off the juice. They were both startled at her sudden show of affection. She was shocked that she did it without even thinking about it. Luke smiled, but did not say anything. He reached across and grabbed the last piece of fruit. Breaking it in two, they both took a piece and ate it.
"Luke?" Mara asked, trying to settle the conflicting feelings coursing through her at every thought.
"Yes?" Luke asked.
"What are we doing? I mean why now?" She was unsure if she was getting her point across. She knew why she decided to act now, or react, seeing how he made the first move, but what she wanted to know was why he decided to make it.
"Does it matter?" he asked, looking at her.
"I think it should. You have been my friend for a very long time. Why would this happen now?"
"I am not sure about you, but I have always felt strongly towards you," he told her, seeming to choose his words carefully. She could probably guess what it was that he was trying not to say, and she was glad. She had not yet come to terms with the fact that they had feelings for each other. She was not ready to find out just how deep she suspected those feelings ran. "But why now? What has changed?" Were you just waiting for me? was the question she wanted to ask.
"I'm not sure, Mara. I honestly don't know. Just over the last few days, I have felt very close to you. It all just sort of happened. I did not feel the need to hold back from you in any way, and my feelings for you just came to the surface." Because I stopped pushing you away, Mara thought. It saddened her to think that Luke would have opened up to her a lot sooner if she had just lightened up.
"Mara, did I say something to upset you?" Luke asked. Once interrupted from her thoughts she could feel that Luke was monitoring her feelings. Not intruding any further, but keeping a close eye on how she was feeling.
"No, I was just thinking," she said, planting a smile on her face. "Thank you for being so nice to me."
"It's easy to be nice to you, Mara." She had to laugh at that one. It had to be the first time she had ever been told she was easy to be nice to.
"Thank you." She walked over and kissed him lightly. She felt his hands reach up and rest on her back, caressing lightly. Not wanting to pull away, she planted light kisses along his jaw. She felt his hands go around her waist and did not protest when he drew her into his lap. She drew back to get a look at his face, and her heart swelled at the look of happiness that showed there. His hands went to the sides of her face, and drew her in for a kiss. He was hesitant at first, and while she found it endearing, she was not in the mood for it. Taking the initiative, she deepened the kiss. She was greeted with a soft moan in response.
Mara, who had her hands loose on her lap, slowly ran them down his sides, releasing a shiver from him. Taking this as a good sign, she worked her hands under his shirt. He jumped when she encountered bare skin. Massaging his tongue with hers, she continued to caress his stomach and chest. Her body started to tingle when Luke finally got the hint and began exploring her neck with his mouth. His hands traveled the length of her back, leaving a trail of fire where ever he touched.
As if waking from a dream she slowly realized what she was doing. Breathing heavily, she pulled back slightly. Luke was looking at her with concern in his eyes.
"What's wrong?" he whispered, and her heart almost melted.
"Nothing's wrong, Luke. I had to stop now, before I could not stop at all." Their heads touched, and they sat like that for a moment, each trying to calm their racing hearts.
Slowly Mara rose from his lap. Walking slowly, she grabbed his sleeping shirt from her bag, and with a smile, she disappeared into the refresher. She quickly changed out of her clothes and into the comfortable shirt that Luke had given her. She knew that she could have bought herself something else to sleep in, but even before she found out how Luke felt about her, she wanted to make sure she was greeted with the sight of his bare chest when she woke up again. She could recall every move that he made this morning, while they were talking, and she wanted to see more of it.
Shaking herself from the exact state she had pulled herself from a minute previous, she finished pulling on the sleep shirt. She exited the refresher, pulling the door closed behind her. Luke had changed into his loose sleep pants while she was out of the room. He was cleaning up the remainder of the dinner trash. He turned to her, and she could feel the worry pouring off him.
"Mara, I'm sorry. If I made you feel uncomfortable..."
"You didn't, Luke," she tired to explain. "I was enjoying myself as well, but I don't want to move too fast. Can you understand that?"
"Of course I can," he told her, smiling. "You take as much time as you need."
"Thank you, Luke." She kissed him lightly, and sat on her bed. Luke smiled at her as he turned out the lights.
"Sweet dreams, Mara."
"You too." She heard Luke moving around and could just make him out in the darkness as he laid down in his own bed. Even though she knew it was early, she closed her eyes, falling instantly into a restful sleep.
Looking around, Mara found herself standing on a beach. Off in the distance she could see a family approaching. A young man and woman, both dressed in light airy clothing, held the hands of a female child of about three years. As they drew closer, she was able to start making out their features. It was Luke, and who Mara would guess was Arielle and their daughter. They were laughing and talking like a normal happy family, while the child happily skipped along. However, as she watched, Arielle started to change. Right before her eyes, Mara watched as Arielle disappeared and was replaced by Mara herself. Mara turned away from the dream and yelled into the air.
"Why do you keep showing me that? I got the message already." Her voice fell to a whisper. "That should have been me."
She buried her head in her hands, and tried to control the sadness that she felt. She had missed part of her life, because of that monster. The longer she went, the more she realized what Palpatine had taken from her. It tore her apart thinking that she had been denied her life, and she just did not have the heart to shatter the dreams Luke had about his life. Though she knew that she had to tell him, it was just a matter of when.
She could sense someone coming up behind her, but she did not look up until she felt the hand touch her shoulder.
"Mara, are you alright?" She turned, and was greeted with the face of the Luke Skywalker she knew. He was much older then the version that appeared in her dream. "I thought I wished you sweet dreams," he said, flashing one of his most dazzling smiles.
"Yes, I think you did," she told him, trying to hide her tears.
"What has upset you? It looks so beautiful here," he told her, looking over to the waves breaking softly on the shore. She welcomed the loving arms that he encircled her with. Fighting as hard as she could, she tried to hold off the tears that were threatening to spill over.
"I don't want to talk about it," she told him. "Just don't leave me right now, please."
"Of course not, Mara." Suddenly waking from her dream she stared at the ceiling. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw Luke sit up in his bed.
"I haven't gone anywhere, Mara." Sighing deeply, she wiggled out of bed and crossed over to Luke's. Lying next to him, she melted into his embrace. "Now sleep, Mara." She let his rhythmic heart beat lull her back to sleep.
"Oh, this is just nasty," Mara exclaimed, from one of the rear engine compartments of the Jade's Fire. Luke finished wiping down the console before venturing back to where Mara had her hands full.
He had awoken early that morning to find Mara still asleep beside him. He kept still and watched her for the longest time before she too woke up. Neither one did much to break the initial awkwardness of the situation, but they set about their morning routine. Then they had set off to get the ship and get off the planet. He had wanted to stall. To make the morning last longer, but did not want Mara to feel like he was pushing her. He had been worried that she would soon wake up and realize what was going on. He did not want her to suddenly think that she had been pushed into something that she did not want to do. Therefore, they had left the hotel and headed straight to the ship, stopping to pick up just enough supplies to last them for the two-day trip home.
He stopped half way down the hall, and leaned against the nearest wall for support, a pounding in his head interrupting his thoughts. His head had begun to hurt over the last few hours, and it had yet showed signs of letting up. Gritting his teeth, and pushing the pain back, he finished his walk.
"Is it that bad?" he asked as he came around the corner, to see what she had found.
"I have never seen such filth," Mara grumbled. "You would think they would at least wipe off their hands every once and a while. It's going to take me a year to get all these greasy hand prints off."
"Only about six months with my help," he said, grabbing a rag and attacking the smudge closest to him. He would put the pain in his head away for the time being. Mara's ship was very important to her, he knew that. If getting it clean was what was important to her, then it was important to him too. A few hours in a healing trance after he finished would take care of his discomfort.
Mara sat back and relaxed, glad to be back on her clean ship. Luke and her had stayed up late into the night cleaning. Even though she had been dead tired when she went to sleep, she woke up early the next morning. She had hours of free time before Luke got out of bed. She used that time to do a few things around the ship that she had not gotten to the night before. After that was finished, all she had to do was think. Even after Luke woke up, they did not talk very much.
It had taken them all the first day of the two-day trip to get the ship up to her standards. Now she felt she could relax a little. She looked over at Luke who sat in the co-pilot seat, looking out into the view they had of hyperspace. She had spent all her free time cleaning, not thinking about what had changed in her life over the past days. Now, with everything finished, there was nothing left to occupy her mind. She found herself wondering if she would have ever realized how she felt if it wasn't for her visions. She could not come to any conclusion about that. She just found that she was happy with the way things were. And Luke seemed happy too, but still a bit nervous. She knew he was worried about upsetting her, she just hoped that he would realize that she knew what she was doing, and that he would do it soon.
Her thoughts turned to their last morning on planet. She woke up late in the morning, still wrapped in Luke's warm embrace. He had not said much but offered her the first turn in the refresher. After a quick shower and change, they packed up their bags and headed out to collect the Jade's Fire. She had no doubt in her mind that the mechanic would have her ship ready when they got there. There were not many people that could defy an angry Jedi, even if he was only trying to scare him. Just as she had thought, her ship had been waiting for her. They paid the mechanic, and where out of the system with no trouble.
She knew that she and Luke had started something she would have never guessed at if asked about it a year ago. She still felt that these dreams she was having had pushed her towards Luke, but what seemed surprising was that Luke opened up to her with little effort on her part. It was almost as if he was waiting for her to be ready. That might be just what he was doing, Mara thought to herself. He was never one to make the first move.
Thinking that Luke had been waiting for her brought on a completely new set of questions. Why was he waiting? How long had he felt that way? Why did she not notice? They were all questions that she would have to bring up, when she was ready. Right now, she was enjoying the … what was it exactly? It was obvious that they were now more then friends. So was this what it was like to be in a relationship? Possible, though in the very early stages of one. They did nothing more then a little kissing. They both knew that it was much too early to get too intimate. However, they had come close a few times already. But she never had a feeling that he would demand more from her. Not her Luke. They would wait until they were both ready. And there would be no rush.
