What a week it had been, Luke reflected It started off like a good idea, to give Mara some time away from work that she badly needed and to get a little training into her red-gold head at the same time. Kill two gundarks with one stone, right? Well, it had turned out a little different than planned.

Sure, he'd expected Mara to be a little angry at his stunt, but he had hoped that eventually she'd see the wisdom in his actions and maybe even thank him for the time off. But no, that wasn't to be. He didn't know why he thought it could be any other way, given Mara's usual reaction to any ideas he might suggest, but he'd hoped that just once she'd open her mind and look at things from a different perspective than shoot first, shoot second, shoot third, and possibly consider asking questions fourth.

So at first, he weathered her icy countenance with all the grace and dignity he could muster, which turned out to be not a whole heck of a lot when it came to Mara Jade. The quiet glares, the subtly narrowed eyes, the aggressive speech patterns, the quiet menace in the way she carried herself. And that was just the first afternoon.

That night, however... Luke trailed off, smiling softly to himself. Whatever Mara was thinking at the time, it blindsided him like an ISD on full throttle. Not many people could do that to him, and Mara had succeeded remarkably well. Even more confusing was her behaviour after that meeting. It had changed, softened a little bit, and he'd found himself wondering just what had changed her mind about staying on Yavin IV. She even started taking an active interest in the lessons he'd previously had to force-feed her.

Of course, it didn't help matters that she would usually be smirking at him during those lessons. Much the same way she was smirking at him right then. He shook his head to bring it back to the present, which was on the landing pad at the Great Temple, the Jade's Fire all repaired and ready for launch, her owner and pilot exhaustivly checking every little detail of the reinstallation of the hyperdrive motivators.

"Why don't you just drool over every drab of paint?" he quietly asked himself. Not quietly enough.

"What was that, Skywalker?" Mara called from the other side of the small ship. "You'd better not be making jokes about my ship," she continued as Luke opened his mouth to defend himself. "Because if you are, I'll march right over there and kick you from here to Coruscant."

"Yes, Mara. Of course, Mara. I'm sure you could, Mara." Apparently she didn't like that response since she leaned aside her ship's nacelle and glared at him. Luke fought the smile and lost. She narrowed her eyes at that, which only made Luke grin broader. Mara stepped around her ship and marched up to him, almost nose-to-nose.

"Pushing it, Skywalker."

"So what?" Mara blinked at that. Apparently she wasn't used to people not responding to her threats with instant fear.

"It won't be to Coruscant. I'll just kick you. Hard."

"Like you did the last time?" Luke challenged, and both suddenly fell quiet, minds on another fight, another situation, another set of feelings. What had started off as a simple lesson in lightsaber combat had mushroomed into something more, something that neither Luke nor Mara were prepared for or quite comfortable with. What exactly it had become was a mystery to Luke, and Mara wasn't sharing anything she knew.

The silence stretched out between them, and again it was a mechanical that came to the rescue. Mara's ship completed its autocheck and beeped an affirmative, breaking the tension in the air that had crackled with an emotional electricity. Mara took the first step back and turned around, busying herself with packing her gear. Luke just watched her, telling himself he wasn't admiring her at all.

"Well, that's it for this trip, Skywalker. If you ever do this to me again-"

"I know, I know. You'll hurt me."

"Badly, so don't you forget it," she wagged a warning finger at his face. Then her face softened and she continued quietly, "It wasn't that bad a week. Some parts better than others."

"Yeah," was the only response that came to mind, his tongue feeling like lead and unresponsive. "Just remember what you've learned here, Mara," he pressed on, falling back onto the more comfortable and familiar teaching mode. "Don't rush things, don't force it. Sooner or later, it'll happen and you might not even know it."

Mara just rolled her eyes in amused irritation. "Don't you ever give up? Rhetorical question, don't answer it. Anyway, if there's anything I'm going to take away from this it's... it's... that your food could use some improvements," she finally rushed out, though Luke got the impression she had meant to say something else.

"I'll let Tionne know," he found himself saying, though that wasn't what was on his mind and his tongue was suddenly uncooperative again. Mara seemed as unable to talk as he, so she just stood there and looked up, waiting for him to make some sort of move. "Will you be coming back?"

"It wasn't totally horrible," Mara considered, though she looked like she was expecting - hoping? - for a different question.. "Sure, ask me back any time. But no promises that I'll say yes," she rushed to intercept any requests that she stay another week or two. Then she suddenly grinned. "Just make sure the food is better before you invite me for dinner again."

Luke returned her grin. "I will."

With that, Mara turned back to her ship and finshed packing all her gear while Luke started away from the landing pad. Maybe she was feeling playful. Maybe she'd planned to do that from the start. Maybe she was just messing with his head. Whatever the reason, she softly called, "Hey, Luke," and he turned back to her, very aware that she rarely used his first name.

Her green eyes were sparkling with barely-controlled laughter, her body language radiation extreme satisfaction. "Pleasant... dreams," she said with a pregnant pause and a wickedly suggestive wink. Then, just to prove her point, she slowly turned around and sauntered towards her ship.

Exactly the same move she'd done that first night in his room, wearing a scrap of clothing that had hid little and suggested lots.

And just like that night, Luke's attention locked onto her body as she moved away, eyes seeing her jumpsuit and mind seeing her lingerie. As soon as she disappeared from view, he put his head in his hands and groaned.

It was going to be a long time before that image was out of his mind.