The Wedding of Luke Skywalker

By Ash Darklighter

Chapter 6

Disclaimer: The characters and situations in this story are the property of Lucasfilm Ltd. I am not making so much as a credit from this endeavour. Thanks to the girls as usual.

Luke Skywalker's Apartment

Luke stared at himself in his long reflecting glass. Around him the entire contents of his wardrobe lay scattered. Most of it was black, with the occasional Alliance camouflage battle fatigues mixed up among them – just in varying states of repair or disrepair.

Mara complained about his clothes on a regular basis – in fact she was the only one who complained about them. Everyone else, including his sister, expected to see him wearing his black tunic and robe, his demeanour solemn as befitting the Jedi Master and head of the Jedi order. He'd got so used to wearing them that he never thought about it until Mara would scowl and make an insulting remark. She, of course, arrayed herself in a variety of colours and fabrics and looked good, in his opinion, in them all. But Luke liked her to wear green. She looked especially beautiful in that particular colour. Not that he'd ever told her. She was so fiercely independent, determined to be an equal, that someone treating her as a woman could be taken as an insult. Luke wanted to treat her like a woman; to show that she was special but let her know that she was anyone's equal. It could possibly be a difficult balancing act to maintain.

He could start by paying her more compliments. It was something he wanted to do. Luke's heart sank. His mouth would stammer out strings of incoherent sentences and Mara would wonder at his sudden lack of intelligence. He considered himself a plain man, not given to flowery, insincere compliments like the Lando Calrissians of the galaxy but in Mara's case he would mean every stuttering word. He and Mara had always conversed with ease. The sharp-witted banter between them had been something they both enjoyed but now, he had noticed that there was a marked strain in their exchanges.

A stream of whistles asking a question sounded from the door of his bedchamber and interrupted Luke from his daydreams of Mara Jade dressed in shades of green, her hair tumbling to her waist in a living sea of curling red-gold fire.

"Yes, Artoo. I'm going out."

There was a short whirr as the little droid rolled into the bedchamber and whirled his head around beeping and tooting.

"No, Artoo. I won't need you with me." Luke gave the little droid an exasperated glance. "Yes, I know you're a great help but I'm meeting Mara."

Artoo gave an electronic chuckle. His Master never usually emptied his closet when having a sparring session with the fiery red-haired trader. He gave a couple more beeps.

"What?" Luke straightened his collar, his mind distracted.

"My workout gear?" The Jedi shook his head. "I'm not wearing those this evening. We're not sparring – at least I hope we're not. This is a… It's a…" He tried to get the words out and failed. Taking a deep breath he tried again and said clearly, "I'm meeting Mara tonight. We're going to a concert and then having something to eat together." He drew himself up stiffly. "Nothing we haven't done before."

The droid tootled a couple more questions. He had been quite concerned about his master's state of mind over the past few weeks and was keeping an extra careful optical receptor on him. The Jedi was worried or upset about something and Artoo considered himself quite a shrewd droid. He had to look after his master. Bright though the man was, he didn't have the processor on him that Artoo had. The little droid had his suspicions that his master was considering mating again. The only thing Artoo hadn't decided was, with whom, but seeing the Jedi get himself into such a state of nervousness over clothes for a meal with Mara Jade made him wonder. She was the one person who could lift his master's spirits or make him so mad that the Jedi would pace around his apartment hitting his biomechanical hand against the wall in frustration. Artoo could point out the dents to prove it.

He had his answer. Mara Jade electrified his master's circuits. He gave a little moan and rolled over to where Luke had discarded the clothes he'd worn earlier. He had known there would be trouble ahead. With a hiss, the compartment housing his grasping arm opened and he grabbed the dirty laundry and towed it away to the recycler for cleaning.

"Thanks, Artoo."

Artoo returned and beeped hopefully.

"Yes, I'm wearing this. This is my second best tunic." He stared down at his boots which he'd polished to a shine previously that afternoon. He hoped the group of new Jedi Knights hadn't noticed his eagerness to get rid of them. He'd delivered them to their temporary quarters and had intimated he'd a meeting he was unable to get out of and would see them the following day. Luke squashed his guilty feelings into a small ball and got rid of them.

Artoo rotated his little domed head and blew a disdainful raspberry.

"What do you mean she doesn't like my clothes? I'm a Jedi Master not a…"

Artoo interrupted with a pithy electronic sentence.

"She doesn't like black." Luke threw back his head and laughed. "Of course she does; she wears it."

Artoo let out a stream of tuneful whistles.

"Of course she complains. She's not that keen on my Jedi robes, but I don't have much else." He'd searched for something else to wear but anything he owned in a different colour had proved to be years old and rather shabby. He'd thought he was in luck when his hand had located a cream coloured shirt, but the blackened edges of a rather large hole in the shoulder made by a blaster had destroyed that hope completely. Luke frowned as his shoulder gave a reflexive twinge. He'd forgotten all about that incident and the shirt. The pile of unwearable clothes had grown. "Get rid of them, Artoo." The droid tooted a triumphant fanfare and Luke glared at him before giving a reluctant smile. His voice slowed. "I always wear… black," he said quietly. "Like my father before me."

Artoo gave a soft hoot of concern.

"It's somehow a reminder of what I could have become."

Artoo, with grasping arm extended, began to try and clear some of the muddle Luke had made.

"Actually," he said, pausing, "just leave it, Artoo. It's my mess. I'll tidy it tomorrow morning." The rest of his apartment was almost bare in its extreme neatness. Luke had lived with little or no possessions for most of his adult life. "It will give me something to do."

The droid chuckled something and Luke peered at the viewscreen to see if Artoo had really said what he thought he'd said. "Maybe Mara will take me shopping? Artoo!"

It was an idea.

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Mara Jade's apartment

Mara stood in front of a large mirror in her bedchamber adjusting for the umpteenth time her sedate hairstyle and the demure neckline of her tunic. She was a little confused at the care she'd taken just to demonstrate to Skywalker how he should be wooing his prospective bride. The face of Khata Ellynin forced itself unwillingly into her mind. She tried to picture the younger woman dressed in a wedding gown standing next to Luke. Mara sighed. She couldn't see it. No matter how hard she tried, the picture refused to come. She could see the awe that had been in the girl's face. Luke didn't need awe. He had enough of that kind of worship. He was tired of it and wanted beings to treat him as a normal man. Mara knew she was the only one who did so and that was why Luke enjoyed her company more than anyone else's.

"If he enjoys my company so much, he should be marrying me," she joked to herself, but her face had changed and her expression was unknowingly wistful. "We'd kill each other within a day."

Mara smoothed a wisp of red-gold hair into place and secured it with a jewelled pin. She'd opted for a long, dark red over-tunic, made from panels of fabric that floated around her slender figure and teamed them with loose pants of the same material. Her hair was braided neatly and coiled at the nape of her neck. She looked smart but not too formal. She could have been going to a business meeting, yet the vibrant colour sent a different message. 'I can be both a friend and an adviser.'

The door chimed at exactly nineteen hundred hours. Mara gave a small chuckle. "Good start, farmboy. Punctual."

With a last anxious glance at herself in the mirror, she ignored most of the contents of her wardrobe, which had been piled haphazardly on her bed, closed the door to her bedchamber and went to answer the chime. Her subconscious mind smirked at the idea that the closed door meant that Luke wouldn't be able to see that for some strange reason she'd found it difficult to choose the right outfit for the evening.

Smoothing the panels of fabric down over her hips, Mara pressed the door release and waited, feeling oddly breathless, for the door to slide open.

Luke could feel her presence as it approached the barrier of the door. He waited to see her, his blue eyes anxious and his heart in his mouth.

Mara waited, also feeling the tension as Luke's figure was revealed. He had dressed himself in his second best Jedi tunic, his black flowing cloak over his shoulders and his knee length boots gleaming. For a moment they just stared at one another.

'Stars!' he thought. 'She's so beautiful.'

Everything he had experienced since he'd been told of his possible new destiny came together in Luke's mind at that moment as she stood before him. He wondered how he'd managed to exist in the same galaxy as this bewitching girl and not be so desperately in love with her. The little voice in the back of his mind laughed and mocked him. 'You've always loved her. You just chose not to let yourself discover that fact. What makes you think that you can ever get her to marry you?'

'But I have to try,' he told himself, forgetting Yoda's 'do or do not' rule. That's all he could ever do - try.

"Good evening, Skywalker," Mara said, trying to quell the sudden breathlessness she felt at his appearance.

"Eh… uh…. You… you look nice," he stammered.

"Just nice?" she queried, an evil glint in her bright green eyes. "A woman will expect more than that."

"But you do look nice, Mara." His voice was soft and husky, as if he had trouble getting the words out. "Very nice. I'm not one given to fancy expressions but…" His eyes seemed to glow in his tired face. "You are very beautiful this evening."

Mara gaped, her mouth dropping open with shock as she felt her cheeks grow hot at his words. He's just practising his lines for Ellynin, Mara chanted inside her head several times. But Luke had never told her that she was beautiful before.

Luke shifted from one foot to the other, hands clasped behind his back.

"You'd better come in. I'm nearly ready," Mara said, backing away from his disturbing presence into the hallway which suddenly seemed rather claustrophobic.

"I brought you something." He held out a crumpled, hastily wrapped parcel.

Mara felt something warm fill her heart before she ruthlessly suppressed the feeling. "You didn't have to…"

"I didn't?"

Mara chuckled. "A woman will say that but not mean it."

Luke frowned. "She would lie?"

"Oh, come off it, Skywalker. You're not that naïve."

"But…"

"If someone gave you something…"

Luke gave a wry chuckle. "I would say, 'you shouldn't have' and be really pleased that they had. I just don't think sometimes."

Mara grinned at him. "You did well."

Luke suddenly beamed. "I did? You really like it?"

"Yes. Good thinking, farmboy. A present shows that you are thinking about her and went to the effort of selecting a gift for her. A woman likes that."

"Aren't you going to open it?"

Mara stared at the awkwardly wrapped parcel in her hand touched, in spite of herself, that the man nervously chewing his lip in front of her had taken the time and trouble to choose and bring her a present. She wondered what the Jedi Master thought that Mara Jade would like. He had picked it out all by himself and - by the crumpled paper and clumsy bow on the green silk ribbon – had wrapped it himself too.

Nervously Mara untied the knotted ribbon and carefully peeled away the layers from around her gift. Her heart stopped. "Oh, Luke!" her voice shook. Not for Mara Jade the usual presents of flowers, sweetmeats or trinkets. How had he known?

'He knows you,' the little voice inside her head told her.

'Then why is he marrying another?'

'Because it is his destiny and you don't love him.'

'But… I… I…' Mara took a grip of herself and stared at the gift he'd given her. She didn't love him. She liked him very much. Luke Skywalker was a good friend but she didn't love him. She knew little of love.

"It's a…" Luke started explaining.

"I know what it is. It's an enhancement aid to strengthen the deflector shield on the Jade's Fire."

Luke's face fell, disappointment clouding his handsome features. "You don't like it? You have one already?" He reached out as if he was going to snatch it away from her.

Mara pressed the object to her breast. "No… no, I do like it. I love it but Luke…"

"What?"

"Honestly, farmboy – I love it. Where did you get one of these? They're practically illegal in three quarters of the galaxy."

Luke scowled. "I know a guy that owed me a favour and… I just thought it was something that you would want."

"Okay…" Mara backed into her lounge and waved Luke to a seat. "Thank you. This is not the usual sort of gift one gives to a woman."

"It isn't?" He sat down heavily.

"No, not unless you know her very well."

"I know you very well."

"Yes, but Luke… I'm not your bride."

Mara missed the funny look that crossed his face.

"Men usually bring flowers, sweets or jewellery."

"Did I do the wrong thing?"

Mara smiled, lighting up her whole face and Luke gazed, enraptured. "For me? No. I like flowers and all the other things but, as you said, you know me and this is perfect. Perhaps when bringing something for…" Mara sighed. "The usual options are safer. Is she a 'usual' kind of girl?"

No, she was definitely not 'usual'. The girl he was in love with was extraordinary. Luke clamped his mouth shut but inside he felt his heart leap. She had said his gift was 'perfect'.

Mara suddenly felt ungrateful. "Thank you, Luke," she murmured again as she examined her gift. "I can't believe it's so small. As I said, I love flowers but the latest gadget for my ship is much more to my liking." She felt his relief and happiness through the Force as he relaxed the shields he was keeping tight around his emotions.

Luke stood up. He would bring her flowers the next time. A vision of Mara burying her head in a bouquet of sweet scented white lilies made his breath catch in his throat. Oh yes, flowers the next time. "Shall we go?" he asked.

"Go?"

"The performance starts in half an hour. We can walk there or take an air taxi."

"Performance?"

"I managed to get last minute seats at the symphony hall."

"What!" Mara breathed. "Karrde tried to get me tickets for that performance and failed, even with his contacts. How did you…"

Luke shook his head. "Uh-uh. Jedi state secret. I'm not revealing my source."

"I don't care how you got them, farmboy."

He headed towards the door, waiting as she attached her lightsaber to her waist.

"I think I'd like to walk," Mara decided. "It's not far."

"Ten minutes," Luke said.

The walk to the concert hall took them little time. The entertainment district was buzzing with people, lights and noise. Different types of street entertainers performed acts from every part of the galaxy. Small crowds gathered around them to enjoy the show. Luke and Mara attracted a fair number of curious glances but the people of Coruscant were not by nature star struck and left the Jedi alone.

The Coruscant Symphony Hall rose up in front of them – a survivor from the Old Republic.

"I still can't believe you managed to get tickets for this!" Mara exclaimed.

"Well, I did." Luke waved two strips of stiffened flimsy in her face.

"These are almost the best seats in the house," Mara muttered as she grabbed them from Luke's hands.

"As I said," Luke mumbled with a shrug. "I have ways."

"I bet you do." Mara stared unseeingly at two statues flanking the entrance without registering what they were.

 He stopped and held out his hand. "Shall we go in?"

"Try and stop me, farmboy."

Luke laughed. "After you."

Mara gave him a look, her mouth curving warmly, and sighed with satisfaction as they walked through the heavy gilt doors. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling and gilded mirrors lined the walls amongst holos from the finest artistes to have performed in the hall. Luke examined one or two until Mara caught at his sleeve.

An arched red-gold eyebrow was raised. "The performance, Skywalker?"

"This way," he said, smiling.

"You're using the Force," Mara murmured as she settled in her seat without a single person accosting the Jedi Master for some triviality or another.

"Well… I thought you would want some peace and I certainly do."

"Good idea, farmboy."

Luke chuckled low in his throat as the lights dimmed and they settled their attention on the performance.

"That was wonderful," Mara said as they exited the hall. "I can't believe they choreographed those dances to fit with the music like that."

Luke grinned. "They were extremely flexible. I got one or two ideas I thought I might introduce as a Jedi workout."

Mara giggled. "Not the one when the male and female leads were…?"

"No, Jade. Not that one."

Mara grinned. "You're doing very well so far. I can't find fault with the evening yet."

"You can't?" Luke seemed a little dismayed. "The seats…?"

"Were perfect. No – everything has been superb. What's the matter, Luke?"

"I…" He closed his mouth and shook his head. He wanted more help with his dating techniques. If everything was too smooth then he wouldn't have an excuse for asking for more help.

"Okay, forget I asked."

"I've booked us a table at one of the restaurants nearby."

"You have?"

Luke shuffled a little, the people milling around them as they stood and stared at one another. "If you would care to accompany me there?" He ducked his head, peering at her through his slightly too long dark blond fringe. Mara saw again the hint of a shy man unused to greatness and fame.

"I suddenly find that I'm hungry," Mara declared and the strange little moment between them was lost.

"Master Skywalker!"

The voice interrupted Mara's good mood as she turned to see a little posse of Jedi heading towards them. She quickly glanced at Luke and what she saw confused her. He didn't look pleased to see them at all.

"Bebo," Luke said, acknowledging the Twi'lek. .

"We thought we would have a wander around and take in some of the sights."

"A good idea," Luke murmured. "There is much to see and you should be able to find your way around this area without much difficulty."

The Twi'lek grinned. "We took the map off Grenet. He can fix things but has no sense of direction. A terrible curse for a Jedi."

"Have you any recommendations of a place to eat?" Khata Ellynin came and stood next to the Twi'lek, her beautiful eyes fixed on Luke intently.

Mara opened her mouth. "You could… oof!" The air exploded from her lungs as one black boot of the Jedi Master kicked her hard on the shin.

"I'm sorry," he apologised as Mara coughed and spluttered. "Mistress Jade has a cold."

Mara glared at the Jedi Master as he began patting her frantically on the back.

"We're sorry to hear that. Perhaps you should see a healer."

"Oh I will," Mara gasped, and the look on Mara's face told Luke that it would be for his benefit after she'd finished with him.

Luke gave Mara's back one more pat and stepped away from her. He gave a polite smile to his former students. "There are several good eating houses with cuisine from various parts of the galaxy just back in the main plaza."

"Will you join us, Master Skywalker?"

"Alas, I cannot, but I will meet with you tomorrow." Luke gave a small bow, grabbed Mara's arm and propelled them away from the group.

Mara pulled her arm from Luke's tight grasp. "What was that in aid of?" she exploded wrathfully and bent over to rub the injured spot.

"You were about to suggest that they join us, were you not?"

"Well… yes."

"I see enough of my Jedi students when I'm on Yavin. This evening was supposed to be just you and me."

"But Luke…"

"Just you and me," he repeated. "Ah… here we are." Luke stopped in front of the dimly lit facade of a small, intimate looking café. "I helped the owner a few years back. I have a table reserved when I want it." He grinned. "At any time. This place has some of the best food on Coruscant."

"Oh!" Mara peered through the smoked glass. "I've never been here before. I never even knew this place existed."

"It's been here a long time. Trust me, you'll enjoy it."

Mara blinked as she was ushered inside the softly lit interior. Soon she was sitting at a table opposite Luke with a simple menu in front of her.

"The food is plain but the best there is of its kind," Luke told her across the flickering light of a candle.

Mara took a sip of the wine the waiter had recommended and stared across into the slightly shadowed face of the man opposite her. Luke's behaviour did not add up. This man wasn't quite the friend she'd known for years.

Mara cleared her throat. "I'm very impressed so far, Skywalker."

"Call me 'Luke' tonight."

"Luke?"

"It is my name. Any other time you can call me whatever you want but for tonight, call me 'Luke'. Please."

"If you want." Mara began to feel slightly out of her depth. He was still hiding things from her. She knew it as sure as she was breathing.

Luke reached across the table and took her hand in his. Mara tried to pull it away but he held firm.

"Skywalker… don't!"

"Don't what?" he murmured, staring into her eyes. "And it's Luke… remember?"

"Let go of my hand."

"You don't hold hands on a date?"

"Yes, you do."

"Well then."

"But I'm not a real date."

"But for me to get practice, it must feel like a real date," he protested with a whimsical smile. "I'm certainly thinking of you as an ideal date. Everyone here will be envying me my… my beautiful companion and wondering how I could possibly be that lucky." He gave her a gentle smile. "Do I get to hold your hand?"

Mara snorted and took another sip of her wine. "I think our food is about to arrive, farmboy. Can I have my hand back so I can eat?"

With a great show of daring, Luke dropped a kiss on her knuckles and let go.

Mara shook her head. "I don't think you need my help at all."

"Ah, but Mara. This is you."

By mutual consent they let the subject drop as the waiter arrived with their food. Luke dug into his with gusto and Mara hid a small smile as he cleared his plate in record time. They conversed easily on many wide ranging topics, the banter almost back to normal but underneath it there was this new undercurrent of feeling that had never been so blatant. Mara almost considered it… sexual.

Luke handed over his credit stick and paid the bill before ushering Mara from the café. "I'll walk you home."

"You don't need to," Mara began to say.

"I do." Luke was firm.

They walked in silence for a while. Every moment when they thought the other wasn't watching they sneaked glances at one another, both looking slightly bewildered. Gradually the mood relaxed and they caught each other's eyes and smiled.

"I still have a problem," Luke confessed.

"What now, Skyw… er Luke?"

"Clothes!"

"Clothes?" Mara questioned. "How can your clothes be a problem?" She closed her mouth and grimaced. "Forget I said that. Of course I should have considered the Skywalker all black ensemble." She surveyed his smart Jedi blacks and polished boots. "You do have a problem."

Luke nodded. "How can I make an impression on her?"

"If she's a Jedi she will just want you in dull old black or brown – so no problem."

"Who says she's a Jedi?"

"She has to be."

"Not necessarily, but it would help. My life is difficult enough to explain to my friends let alone someone who will probably resent my time spent with the Jedi. For example, there are the times I disappear off to a world no one has ever heard of at a moment's notice to mediate a problem they don't care about. How can I marry someone who would not understand that she could not always come first with me?"

Mara understood him perfectly. Duty and responsibility were powerful calls on her life too. "But Luke! You know exactly who it is."

"I'm pretty sure although the Force is always in motion."

"I think she knows, too."

Luke's face blanched. "She does?"

"Well… by the look on her face earlier."

"Earlier?" Luke repeated stupidly.

So he was still playing the game that way. "I admit you suit your Jedi robes, but…"

Luke clutched his hand to his heart and fell flat on his back.

Mara gave a hunted look around her and then raised an eyebrow patiently when she realised they were alone. "Skywalker!"

One blue eye opened and peered up at her. "I'm in shock," he explained.

"You are a big fraud." Mara couldn't help the grin appearing, but she tried to appear stern.

"I felt faint?" he asked quizzically.

Mara pulled her comlink from a hidden pocket and pretended to thumb it on. "Leia," she muttered into the com. "Your brother has just collapsed in the street. I suggest a stay in the medicentre with total immersion in a bacta tank. It's the only cure for what ails him."

"Mara," he whined and sat up. "You didn't really call Leia. She's not too happy with me as it is."

"Of course I didn't, nerf. What was that all about?"

"You said you liked me in my Jedi clothes."

"I do, but not all the time."

Luke's eyes widened and he declared dramatically, "You want to see me without my clothes!"

Mara flushed and snapped, "I've seen you without your clothes before…"

Luke turned scarlet. "When have you seen me without my clothes? You have never…"

"I've seen you in your swimming costume." She shoved the memory of the time she'd seen him without that costume firmly to the back of her mind.

"That's different."

 Mara gave a deep exasperated sigh. "What I meant was…" She spoke slowly as if was speaking to a child. "I would love to see you in colours. Get your mind out of the sewer, farmboy."

"I was going to wear something else tonight," he confessed.

"But…" Mara drawled.

"I didn't have anything else. One shirt had a blaster hole in it and another was coming apart at the seams. The only thing that was presentable was the tunic I was wearing when I left Tatooine."

"You don't still have those, Skywalker?"

Luke bit his lip and nodded.

Mara laughed. "I should have expected that one. Okay, we go shopping. I take it that you would like my help?"

"You have such good taste, Mara. Thank you!" Luke grinned and jumped to his feet. He held out his hand and took Mara's firmly. "I have to do Jedi business in the morning but then I'm all yours." Luke kept his shields firmly in place. Who did Mara think that his bride was? One of the new Jedi Knights perhaps? If so – which one? If she'd shown a hint of jealousy that might have been wonderful but Mara remained firmly resolved to help him and not in the least jealous. He couldn't tell if she was perturbed about the whole situation or not.

Her hand felt so right clasped in his.

"Why don't you come past the new Jedi offices tomorrow?"

Mara blinked. She was still trying to get past the idea of Luke being 'all hers'. "Oh… Leia was telling me about those."

"I'll give you a tour of the facility and then I would like to have your advice on my wardrobe. Artoo is clearing most of it out this evening. I think he was quite pleased to be doing it."

"It must be bad if your droids are noticing," Mara quipped lightly.

"And then, I'll cook you your supper."

"My, my, farmboy. Forget the other woman. I'll marry you myself."

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