Dantooine: Three days later…

Well, she should have known it wasn't going to be easy to find him, even on a backwater planet like Dantooine. Whether he was aware of it or not, Luke Skywalker was very adept at shielding himself. Even from his reluctant bondmate, Mara Jade. She knew what he was doing—trying to force her to tap into her Force abilities—and she resented him for it. Though, she reflected with a humorous smirk, there was a lot she resented him for. Some of those things weren't really his fault either. Still, blaming everything on him made life a lot easier, and he handled it rather well, considering. Banishing the smirk, she finished climbing the rocky knoll she'd landed near and shielded her eyes from the glare the double suns threw off of the planet's relatively plain surface. She scanned the area, then headed back down the other side and straight for the town about two kilometers away. Then, suddenly, the barriers between her and her bondmate were lifted, and awareness of him flooded back. Her whole body tingled as she got herself accustomed to his presence again. Not being on the same planet with him for the past two or three weeks, having limited access to him, had abruptly cut her off from the heighten perception she'd gotten used to when they had been together.

//Mara,// he said through his Force-voice, more warmly than he should have, considering they were still technically enemies. She forced herself not to answer him, but she did zero in on his location and started moving swiftly toward his position.

//Mara, I know you said not to trust you…//

//Makes you a bigger fool than I thought, Skywalker. I even warned you before hand. You're getting good at shielding, by the way,// she snapped.

//So you're my enemy.//

//Yup.//

//You didn't call me Farmboy…//

//Alright, Skywalker, here's what I'll do, since you're so painfully naïve…when I'm after you, I'll call you Skywalker. When I need you, or I'm not hunting you down, I'll call you Farmboy.//

//Oh yeah? And when are you not hunting me down?// he questioned, sounding slightly put-off by her tone. Well, it wasn't anything he didn't deserve, anyway.

//I'm doing my job. I'm Thrawn's toy now, remember?//

//You don't have to be. I already told you that you could join me,// he insisted, but she shook her head and wondered again if he would ever find a wife with his incessant tendency to nag.

//And I already told you that I can't.//

//You said you wouldn't kill me,// he shot back defiantly, and she rolled her eyes.

//I said no such thing. I still have my original plans for killing you, you know. Sometimes I still think it's a pretty damn good idea.//

//Liar,// he replied lightheartedly.

//No, not really. Sometimes I really do want to shoot you.//

He laughed. //Sometimes, Jade, I feel the same way.//

//You want to shoot yourself?// she asked.

//Ha ha. I'd say now is one of those times.//

She snickered. //Likewise, Skywalker.//

//Uh-oh, guess I better watch out.//

//Nah, that was a 'Farmboy' in disguise.//

She was confusing, that was for sure, but it was such a change from all of the girls in the Rebel Alliance it was refreshing. Of course, her having a desire to kill him kind of put a damper on any romantic thoughts, but she seemed like a good person to have at your back in a scrape. Of course, in his case, she'd probably slid a knife into it, but he liked to think he was getting to her. Which he was, but Mara would have died before admitting any such thing. The fact that she didn't think of him as the Rebellion's personal 'knight in shining armor' was a relief, since—now that she had so kindly pointed it out—there really were women practically fainting into his arms to get some attention. He'd never paid it much attention before because of all the things that needed to be done. Things such as blowing up the first Death Star, giving evacuees time to escape from the Rebel base on Hoth, training, rescuing Han and Leia from Darth Vader, rescuing Han, Leia, Chewie and the droids from Jabba the Hutt, more training, destroying the shield generator on Endor, and finally, turning his father away from the Dark Side. But now there was a lull in the fighting, and in the doldrums between meeting after boring meeting, woman after woman would go out of their way to be in his. It had gotten to the point that Luke was hiding in his room or his X-wing most of the time.

At the moment, he was tucked away in his X-wing, fiddling with the controls in order to coax more power out of it. He frowned slightly, toying with the shields in his head, trying to mask his position without breaking their contact. Mara stopped moving.

//I was wondering when you'd get around to that,// she muttered in his head, sounding a little frustrated.

//So, you've abandoned the Emperor's plans for me, eh?//

//I'm trying to keep my head, Skywalker. I can't turn you if I'm dead. And let's face it, Thrawn wouldn't even know where to start with you. Hell, I don't even know where to start with you.//

//He'll kill you?// Luke asked, bolting upright in his chair. This abrupt motion caused his head to come sharply in contact with the cockpit's hatch, and he promptly sat back down and rubbed his head.

//Well, what did you think he was going to do with me? Take me out for a picnic?// she replied sarcastically. He frowned, still rubbing his head, and tried to think.

//If it's me he wants, I'll go to him. I'm not about to be the reason another one of the people I know gets killed.//

//Skywalker, you are dumb. He doesn't want you—or he does, but not alive. Not even if you were to turn. Nah, this guy knows that if there's a Sith lord around, he'd lose his power. He's not to far off, either. Remember, the Emperor wanted me to talk you into killing Thrawn?//

He laughed, memories of one particular evening floating back to him. //Talk me into it, Mara?// he shot back teasingly, and she fumed.

//And there's the urge to shoot you again…//

He only laughed harder, but then, Mara had already discovered that all Jedi were nuts. She wondered if he'd still laugh when she turned him to the Dark Side, as her true Master had ordered. Kind of a stupid thought, but she didn't think she'd like it if she couldn't hear him laughing anymore. Then again, would he even be him anymore, or just a dark, twisted, power-hungry murder like Vader had been? She couldn't imagine Luke Skywalker not teasing her mercilessly, not laughing when she shot back retorts to his smart little comments. Suddenly, she didn't want to. But hadn't the Emperor said that when Skywalker turned, she could be his Hand? That wasn't sounding too bad. She'd have her position back, her freedom back, and she'd have his trust in her abilities, unlike Thrawn. No worries about him wanting to kill her.

//You'd better hurry, Mara. I won't be on Dantooine long,// he told her, smirking to himself. Mara swore under her breath, then focused on him again.

//Really? I'll track you down, don't you worry about that.//

//Not worried in the slightest.//

//Stupid Jedi.//

//Must come with the job description,// he retorted. Then, as he broke contact to fully shield himself once more, he added, //Catch me if you can.//

Well that was that. She'd have to catch him now, he'd challenged her. The only problem was, how was she going to capture him and kill him before Thrawn, and turn him to the Dark Side to kill Thrawn?

-

Luke wasn't on Dantooine very long after that. In fact, the next morning he was prepping his X-wing for flight. Leia stood nearby, watching his flight-suite clad body climb up the cockpit ladder, press a few buttons, then hop down and jog around to the wing foil on the right side and fiddle with something, then to the nose, then to the left wing foil, back to the cockpit—he was making her dizzy, but it was nice to see him so excited once more.

"I missed my X-wing even before we left for our mission on Endor. It's good to be working on her again," he told her when he caught her eye. She laughed at him.

"You're starting to sound like Han," she teased.

"What? Starting to have common sense?" a familiar voice asked, and both Leia and Luke turned to see Han walking toward them.

"Common sense? You've got the common sense of a taun-taun," Luke retorted as his best friend slid an arm around his sister's shoulders. Leia relaxed against his side, taking comfort in his presence, and for a moment Luke wondered what it felt like to hold a woman and have her melt against him simply because she could. Not that their hadn't been offers, just none Luke was tempted to accept.

"Falcon's prepped and ready to go when you are. The others are already leaving," Han told them, pointedly ignoring the last comment. Luke grinned and nodded, accepting his sister's hug as he moved back toward the X-wing's cockpit.

"Then I'll see you both there. And Han, you'd better take care of my sister," he warned, only half-joking. Han nodded and mock-saluted.

"See ya, Commander," he replied, and Luke mimicked the salute.

"'Bye, General."

-

Mara jogged up to the rapidly emptying base, hoping that she sounded breathless enough to convince the guards she'd been running for a long time. She saluted to a passing officer, then grabbed a techie.

"Hey…I'm a new recruit, and…well," she paused, trying to look and sound embarrassed, "I lost the coordinates for the jump. Could you refresh my memory?"

If it had been an Imperial, she would have been locked up in a cell before she could blink. But at the Rebel base, things were quite different. The tech glanced at her identity badge—one she'd put together herself in a nearby town—more out of curiosity than suspicion, then nodded and wrote the coordinates down for her.

"Thanks!" she exclaimed softly. "You're a lifesaver!"

The tech smiled. "My pleasure. Have a safe trip," he replied, and went back to work.

"Oh, one more thing…Commander Skywalker wouldn't happen to still be here, would he? I've got something he was looking for."

"Your lucky day I guess," the tech smiled. "Commander Skywalker's just outside, prepping his X-wing. Better hurry, though, because he's probably getting close to leaving."

"Thanks again!" she called over her shoulder, already jogging toward the hanger-bay doors. She caught sight of him climbing into his cockpit as Solo and Organa headed toward what looked to be a flying trash heap. Shrugging it off, she sprinted toward the X-wing, grabbing onto the ladder and pulling herself up as the cockpit hatch came down. She slipped in before the opportunity slipped by, then straddled his hips and pressed a blaster to his temple.

"Caught ya," she said out loud. Luke smiled wryly.

"Guess you did. Though, Mara, X-wings aren't built for two people."

"Like you need to remind me," she snapped back, reluctant amusement slipping into her sense for a brief moment. Her back was pressed up against the control panel, and she had to duck her head to keep it from banging against the hatch. "Now, the question is, what to do with you? I'm certainly not having you fly us to Coruscant in this thing…but if you don't leave in your X-wing, your friends will get worried. So I guess we'll just have to meet them at their new base."

Even as she spoke, her ship was en-route, courtesy of a comm-link, a helpful tech who'd handed her the coordinates, and an extremely capable droid.

"So…you're gonna let me go?" he asked hopefully, and Mara smirked.

"Not on your life. Get comfy, Skywalker. We're gonna see just how well this thing can handle two passengers," she replied, and he gaped at her.

"What, you're gonna sit in my lap the whole way there? That's six days in hyperspace!" he exclaimed as she easily turned over and settled herself between his thighs. It was a tight fit, considering his knees were now mashed up against the sides of the cockpit, but it would work. Six days wasn't that long.

"Yup, all your dreams have come true, Skywalker," she replied. "Six days alone with me in your stuffy little cockpit."

"Yeah, you sure do know how to bring a man's fantasies to life, Mara," he replied dryly, trying not to shift around too much. It was conceivably workable—if only barely. The good thing was, neither one of them were tall, nor was he very broad-shouldered himself—something he was teased about mercilessly by Han—so they would both fit, it would just be rather uncomfortable. Still, he could probably go into a trance for most of it, and just have Artoo wake him up when it was time to drop out of hyperspace.

"Let's get this thing moving, Skywalker," she said, and reluctantly settled back against his chest. He flipped a switch and the comm came to life.

"All right, Han, let's get going," he said.

"See ya there, kid," the other replied, and Luke abruptly shut off the comm again. Good, no one had seen Mara slip into the cockpit with him. Reaching around her, he keyed a few controls and they lifted off. Twenty minutes after that, they were in hyperspace.

"You know," he murmured against her ear, "you're very persistent when you're on a mission."

Little shivers ran up and down her spine at the feeling of his lips and breath against that sensitive part of her skin. She masked it well, however, and tried hard to keep her voice level.

"That's part of my job description."

"Is it really?" he mused, still very close to her ear. She shifted uncomfortably and found herself wishing she didn't need him alive. No, that wasn't true. She was really wishing they were someplace a bit more roomy than the cockpit of his X-wing, and that their relationship was a whole hell of a lot different. It only lasted a fleeting moment however, and she pressed the nozzle of her blaster against his side.

"Just don't get any ideas," she replied.

"Who me?" he asked innocently, then shifted a little and closed his eyes. "It was your idea to join me."

"Yeah, and already I'm starting to regret it," she muttered, but turned gingerly onto her side to allow him more room. Using his chest as a make-shift pillow, she rested her head on it and let her own eyes slip shut.

"Well, I'll probably be in Jedi trance the whole way there, so you won't have to put up with me a whole lot," he replied, yawning.

"Mmm…" she replied. She'd been going days without sleep, so a nice long nap was sounding pretty good to her too. And, damn his hide, he was very warm—a little generator, in fact—and it was lulling her to sleep. "Think you could put me into one of those?"

"Sure…" He put his arms around her, and she stiffened and nearly pulled away. "Relax, I'm not going to do anything."

"Yeah, well, most men would have lost their arms for that particular maneuver," she growled against his chest. He chuckled.

"You want to be put into a trance or not, Jade?" he replied, and she replied, "Then get on with it, and be quick."

A few seconds later, she was sleeping soundly against him. He smiled a little, opening his eyes to look at her. She was a lot more peaceful in sleep, the worries and anxieties erased from her normally guarded face. He traced his left hand though her silky hair and watched it slip through his fingers. If circumstances were different, he might have fallen in love with her. Considering who they were to each other, though, it wasn't very likely that they'd even manage a real friendship. Besides, he didn't want to care about her and then have her put in danger because of it. That always seemed to happen to people he cared about—Owen and Beru, Biggs, Han, Leia, Chewie, Lando, his father, Wedge. Hell, even the droids got into trouble because of him.

So, he thought as his eyes slid shut once more and he started to put himself into a trance, this is what it's like to have a woman melt against you. Too bad she would never do it without being put into a trance.

And then he too was sleeping like a baby, with her cradled against his chest. A Jedi Knight and his assassin, paired against even their own liking. The galaxy got stranger by the day.

-

Luke woke up two hours earlier than he expected, for no real reason at all. It was a gradual wakeup, a slow drift back into reality, and he held the warm, soft person in his arms closer. His grip on reality was loose enough in his hazy half-consciousness for him to think that he was lying next to someone who really cared for him, and he buried his face into her neck. Go back to sleep, he told himself groggily, and he slid under again.

An hour and a half later, Mara woke up, cradled against a warm chest by a strong pair of arms clasped securely around her waist. She didn't want to wake up, but subconsciously knew she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, either. So she stayed there, unwilling to move, more in dreams than in reality. Funny, she'd never pictured him as being strong, but she could feel the muscles of his chest under her cheek, and there was strength in the arms that held her pinned to him. He smelled good, too, but how he managed that after being in a stuffy cockpit for six days without a trip to the 'fresher was a mystery to her. His chest rose and fell in a smooth, rhythmic motion, unperturbed that he was in such close confines with the woman who'd pledge to kill him.

Awareness snapped back to her then, when she realized just whom she was musing about. She lifted her head from his chest slightly and looked up into his sleeping face, lost in the wonder of some dream, looking every bit the innocent farmboy that was still there, just under the surface of the Jedi Knight destiny had forced him to become. Yes, Luke Skywalker would be a fine catch for the lucky woman he picked. After only a few days, she knew he was kind, generous to a fault, and completely absorbed in finding the good in everyone. Even, she thought with a wry smile, an assassin hell-bent on taking him out. He would survive her this time, just as he had the first time, and he would survive Thrawn. He would grow old, taking on one Jedi student after another, until those damnable beings were everywhere, always knowing just what to do and say.

And it didn't bother her anymore. Maybe Skywalker had the right idea. Of course, she'd have to try to turn him, she'd have to try to kill him, but she knew he'd survive just as he always, always had. A little banged up, maybe, but he'd emerge triumphant simply because he was too good to die at the hands of someone as tainted as her or as power-hungry as Thrawn.

She closed her eyes again, let the Emperor's Hand come back, and she pulled out of his arms. Her muscles tensed once more, her eyes cooled back to frosty green, and she prepared herself for the long journey ahead. But, deep down, there would always be the revelations she'd just come to realize herself. Maybe, if they both survived this—though she doubted that—they'd be something more than enemies with a common enemy.

-

The planet had been lost for many years, deliberately erased long ago by a senator by the name of Palpatine, and had since then been used as a warehouse for the man's more…personal artifacts. Including, Thrawn thought with a smile, several items that he too would find useful. There was no name for the place, but he'd once overheard the Emperor refer to it as 'Wayland'. And the warehouse wasn't the only item that Thrawn was interested. There was someone he would enjoy meeting there, as well. Of course, certain precautions had to be taken before he could come into contact with that particular individual, but a few of his personal transports were heading toward another interesting planet to provide the means he'd need.

The Rebellion's lack of response to the Empire's change in command wasn't anything he hadn't expected. In fact, he'd counted on it. Rising their suspicions by not doing much was just what he wanted to do. They wouldn't realize what he was really doing until it was far too late, but then, that was the entire point of his plot. Soon, with patience, there would be no Rebellion. And patience was one thing Thrawn had in spades. After all, he'd waited nearly thirty years to become a Grand Admiral after first joining the Empire's ranks. This would seem like the blink of an eye compared to that.

"Land near that mountain," he instructed a helmsman, then strode toward his personal quarters. "Prepare a strike team as well, and a shuttle. I want to be in that mountain by nightfall," he added as he left, and the crew scrambled to see it done. Then he checked up on his Hand, who appeared to be en-route to the remains of Cloud City in Bespin. There wasn't much there anymore, but it was just like the Rebels to pick yet another set of ruins to appropriate. Still, as long as his Hand succeeded in getting Luke Skywalker, the location of the Rebel base wasn't really relevant.

His Hand was another matter entirely. He didn't fully trust her, but then he'd expected that, too. Skywalker had a way of getting to people, and no doubt the late Sith lord would want a mere alien to take charge of the Empire indefinitely. Which meant that the Hand's orders from her late master and the order he'd given her were in conflict. It would be fascinating to see how it turned out, considering the woman's own desire to see the Jedi dead. If Skywalker was as resourceful as the reports on him claimed him to be, he'd manage to get on Jade's good side. This, however, was something Thrawn was hoping to avoid, hence his backup plan. If his Hand were to fully turn her back on the Empire, then he'd simply have to find a replacement. And with the Emperor's gadgets at his disposal, that wasn't going to be a difficult task at all.

The strike team was ready and waiting when the shuttle landed, and they obediently followed Thrawn up the mountain and into a vast storage facility.

"Welcome to the future of the Empire," he announced, and strolled over to one of the ten thousand spaarti cloning cylinders. "And what a future it will be. You lucky few are here to watch me set it in motion."

And the strike team watched as the one of the cylinders was activated and, for the first time since the clone wars decades earlier, used.

-

Cloud City was only a shadow of what it once was, but the sight of it hovering lazily in the clouds still took Luke's breath away. It had been inhabited by the Imperials for a while, but without Lando Calrissian's booming business, the City had dried up and the Imperials were forced to relocate. Still, it hovered like some sort of jewel in the sky, surrounded by thick clouds turned brilliant shades of orange and red by the setting sun. Mara whistled softly under her breath, and felt Luke's own appreciative intake of breath.

"Amazing, isn't it?" he murmured, eyes locked onto the City. "I first came here on a wild, half-thought-through rescue attempt. Vader had Han and Leia captive. This is where…" He glanced down at his right hand. His prosthetic right hand.

"You lost your hand," she finished quietly. He nodded, tracing a finger on his left hand over his right hand. She glanced at it, resting lightly on the X-wing's controls as he gently steered it toward one of the City's landing pads. She touched it out of curiosity, craning her neck to judge the expression on her face. His crystal-blue eyes gazed unflinchingly into hers.

"Does it ever hurt?" she asked, twisting slightly in his lap. A little smile curved his lips.

"Sometimes, when I think about it too much."

As her fingers traced over his palm, he laced his own through them. Her hand reflexively jerked back, but Luke tightened his grip. She remained tense for a few moments, then relaxed slowly. Then he reached down and grabbed her left hand too, and, still grasping both, he used her hands to steer the X-wing.

"Vader took it, didn't he?"

"Yes, just before he told me I was his son. I didn't want to believe him. It was too painful," he murmured, close to her ear again out of necessity. She froze and craned around to look at him again.

"What?" she asked, eyes searching his wildly. He gazed at her, a little confused.

"That was when Vader told me I was his son."

So that was what the whole thing had been about. Even beyond the grave, the Emperor was trying to use her to exact out final revenge against Darth Vader. Eyes still glazed over, she turned back to gaze at the City. But Luke realized what had surprised her.

"You mean, you didn't know?"

"No, I didn't know."

"Well…it didn't matter much anyway. Vader and my father were…two separate beings in one body, I guess you could say," he continued softly.

Oh, but it did matter. She really had been just a pawn, a well-trained police dog. No wonder Thrawn enjoyed baiting her so much. Gods, how naïve could she be?

"I'm sorry," she said softly, tilting her head to gaze at him from the corners of her eyes. "For everything. I mean it." There, she'd said it. It wasn't as hard as she feared it would be. She could feel their bond strengthen and hold, as if someone had reinforced it somehow.

"You don't have to be sorry, Mara. None of it was your fault." He smiled as they landed smoothly, her hands still locked in his. "In fact, talking to you about it makes me feel better. Ironic, isn't it? You're my enemy, but you're also the person who knows me better than anyone else in the world."

She flipped over, straddling him again in order to look at him without craning. "Really, Skywalker?"

He nodded, his eyes bright and earnest. "Our bond makes it that way," he replied.

She smiled a little bitterly and shook her head. He deserved someone better to be bonded to.

"Uhm…Mara," he whispered after a moment.

"Mmm?"

"How are we gonna get out without someone noticing that you've been in here?" he asked. She paused.

"Good question. All right, Farmboy—" she refused to smile back when he beamed at the use of the nickname—"you get out first, and I'll lay low until the coast is clear. We'll talk later tonight."

"All right. See you tonight, Red," he replied, and gently moved out from under her as the hatch opened.

"Yeah, count on it," she replied.

-

The world had changed for Mara in the blink of an eye. She had two options left, since she most certainly wasn't about to sink as low as exacting revenge. One was to carry out Thrawn's mission, the other was to take Skywalker up on his offer and join the Rebellion. It was strange—when she wasn't with Skywalker, she detested the idea of becoming a Rebel and detested even more the idea of liking him. When she was with him, she couldn't help but like him, and though she'd never admit it, sometimes when he was talking about his friends, she did want to join his side. She was still thinking about it at midnight, when Skywalker's head suddenly popped into view and the hatch opened.

"Come on, you'll sleep better inside, and I want to talk to you," he said, blue eyes dancing.

"I hope you're not trying to impress me with your prowess on your own base," she bit out, and he laughed.

"Nothing that sneaky, I just wanted to come get you," he replied, lifting her agilely out of the cockpit. She took three swift steps back as soon as her feet touched the ground, eager to put some distance between them. His expression didn't change, but a flash of pain shot across his eyes. Ignoring it, she prowled forward, heading toward the skywalk. He grabbed her hand before she could get too far.

"This way, Mara," he told her, and pointed to the window that was his room. She pulled her hand away and stalked toward it, trying to reestablish some barriers between them. Recognizing the effort, Luke shook his head and mutely followed.

"You still hate me," he murmured after a moment. Her step faltered for half a second.

"That's not it," she muttered finally, moving faster in order to put even more distance between them. He matched her strides however, eyes glowing with intensity.

"Then what is it? Mara," he took her shoulders firmly in his hands and turned her to face him. "What is it that makes you jerk back from me like I burn you? Why won't you just open up and admit it—I'm not that damn bad. I mean, I don't expect you to announce your undying love or anything, but I'm trying to be your friend!"

So Jedi Knights could lose their temper. It made Luke Skywalker seem all that much more human to her. An endearing little character flaw. But she had to put some distance between them before she was in danger of something far scarier than Thrawn's wrath if she refused to listen to him.

"Oh how the mighty fall," she finally snapped after a moment of silence.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he snapped back, resisting the urge to shake some common sense into her.

"It means, you don't always get what you want, Skywalker! We're not friends, we're not ever gonna be friends, okay? We're not even after the same thing!" She tried to yank away from him, but he pulled her closer, so close their noses were brushing.

"You don't have to do this the hard way, Mara. We could be friends, you're a very likeable person."

"Gee, thanks, Skywalker. I feel all warm and fuzzy inside."

"Sarcasm isn't going to work on me, Mara. Our bond won't allow you to push me away," he told her, and she lashed out at him.

"I'm so sick of hearing about that damn bond--!"

"Get used to it!"

"You are so infuriating!"

"So are you!"

Then the pair lapsed into silence, trying to will each other into doing what they each wanted. Her eyes were a vibrant, brilliant emerald color even in the night, on fire with frustration. His eyes were perfectly blue and moving, almost like a stormy ocean. It was fascinating to behold, and Mara felt some of her frustration drain away.

"Damn you, Luke Skywalker. What do you want from me?" she finally growled, afraid her voice would crack. He lowered his forehead to hers and closed his eyes, his grip on her shoulders loosening ever so slightly.

"Just your friendship, Mara Jade."

"That's it?"

"That's it," he confirmed. He opened his eyes and met her brilliant gaze.

"No strings?" she ventured, sounding more and more like a frightened child. Luke smiled patiently.

"No strings. Just because you're my friend doesn't mean you're my pawn. I don't own you. Personally, I like you free too much to ever cage you down. You don't have to do anything you don't want to. You don't even have to join the Rebellion if it bothers you that much. I don't want to see you unhappy." His blue eyes blazed with earnest compassion and hope.

"All right, dammit. But I still don't like you very much," she snapped, pulling away. Luke tried to keep a triumphant, happy smile from his face and failed miserably.

"I know," he replied, and led her into his room.

-

Leia watched from her window—one which overlooked the landing pad that Luke had set his X-wing down on, incidentally—as Luke walked in a quick beeline straight toward his fighter. She wondered what he was doing out there, and moved to grab her boots when she saw him pull a woman out of the cockpit of the ship. Her mouth dropped open. Had that woman been in the X-wing with Luke on the whole trip to Bespin? That would mean that she'd been in the cockpit with him for six days. She stopped moving and watched the scene in curiosity. Soon it became obvious that they were fighting, and she watched as Luke chased the woman across a skyway. He took her by the shoulders, and then dipped his head toward hers. Leia couldn't really make it out, but he appeared to be kissing her! Then he pulled back and they headed toward his room.

Well, well, well…I wonder who that woman is…she thought, desperately wanting to meet the woman that had so obviously ensnared her brother. No wonder he'd been feeling incomplete until recently, he was in love!

I think I'll have to pay the happy couple a visit.

-

Falling asleep in Luke Skywalker's bed was something Mara had never imagined herself doing. She stretched out under the sheets, tested the softness of the pillows, and finally curled into a comfortable position and tried to go to sleep. Luke's comforting presence was near, right in the other room, in fact, but it didn't really help. He'd insisted that she take the bed, gentleman that she now knew he was, and had stretched out on the couch. He, being able to find a comfortable spot anywhere, had fallen asleep almost immediately, so Mara had spread a blanket over him when she'd been sure he was way beyond the point of waking up.

She couldn't stop thinking about the mess she'd gotten herself into. She was with a man she could hardly stand for more than five minutes, in the middle of an enemy base deep into enemy territory, much like he had been upon their first meeting. Every time she closed her eyes she could see the Emperor's burning yellow eyes and Thrawn's equally fire red ones, and she could hear Luke crying out in pain.

She had a mission to carry out, whether she was his friend or not, but she couldn't do it. Not now that he'd broken through her outer shell. She knew he'd given her a place in his heart, and maybe in time he'd have a place in hers, provided she could think of a way to get them both out of this mess. She'd have to take him to Coruscant before too long or Thrawn would get suspicious…but then what? Would she have to kill him? She didn't think she was capable of that anymore.

After a tossing and turning a great deal more, she managed to get comfortable and was just closing her eyes when someone entered the room. She shot into an upright position, blaster already in hand, and pointed it straight at Leia Organa's forehead.

"Rather jumpy, aren't we?" Organa commented, taking a seat near the foot of the bed. "You can relax, all I want is a few answers."

"Oh yeah?" Mara replied warily as she set the blaster down. "Answers to what?"

"Your name would be a good start."

Mara regarded the woman with a bit of grudging respect. She even managed to be regal in the dead of night.

"Mara Jade," she answered after a moment, and Organa nodded.

"Well, I assume you know who I am," she returned, and Mara mimicked the nod.

"Now I'd like to know just how you know my brother."

"Skywalker? We met…on Coruscant."

"I thought as much," Organa murmured with a nod. She made no move to sound an alarm, however, and Mara blinked.

"You're not going to call in your Rebel friends and throw me in some cell?" she asked.

"Luke trusts you, that's enough for me," Organa replied, and Mara threw a glance his way. He'd been right, some people would accept her simply because he had. "Why? Should I be calling in troops?"

Mara smiled a bit weakly, her respect for this woman growing even against her will. "No, I'm not going to hurt him."

"After the kiss he gave you out on the skyway? I should hope not," Organa managed with a laugh.

"Kiss? What kiss?" Mara was thoroughly confused.

"He kissed you…didn't he? Out there, when you two were fighting?"

"You saw that? No, no…that wasn't a kiss. He was just trying to talk me into joining your Rebellion. No kissing," Mara replied quickly, and Organa laughed again.

"I see. My apologies, then. It's too bad, you look like you'd be good for him. He's been bored out of his mind recently." Organa through her brother an affectionate look. "And when you're here, he feels complete again."

This was getting way too weird. She was getting Leia Organa's blessings to go after her once-archenemy. She almost laughed herself.

"Complete, eh? Pretty amazing, since I was after his blood until a few days ago."

"Isn't that how the best relationships start?" Organa asked, laughing again. Yes, Mara could believe that she and Luke were twins—they had the same laugh, and it came often and with warmth. "I wanted to kill Han for the first few months I knew him, too."

"Han? Oh, you're talking about Solo. Yeah, I could see why you'd want to kill him," Mara agreed, and Leia's eyes danced with good humor.

"Oh yes, you'd definitely be good for Luke—you'd keep him on his toes. Well, I guess that all I needed to know. Sorry to have scared you like that."

Mara shrugged. "No big deal."

"Good night then, Mara Jade."

"Good night, Leia Organa."

The smaller woman offered Mara a departing smile, then disappeared back the way she'd come. Mara sank back into the bed shaking her head. The Skywalker family was sure a weird one. Then she smiled at the thought of Han marrying into it. That would make it even weirder. But she carefully kept herself from thinking about Organa's thoughts on her and Luke. That would be way too weird.

It was too dark for Mara to see, but Luke was smiling, and he was definitely enjoying thoughts of his own about Leia's words.

Author's Notes: My updates will have to come a little further in between now, since I've got a busy couple of weeks ahead. But don't worry, this is too much fun to stop writing. Look for more soon!