Chapter 29: Coruscant Wasn't Built in a Day
Luke entered his quarters after another session of research. He had spent the last few evenings in Cort's ship looking over the man's collection of Jedi lore. Luke was tired from the constant work he had been doing between research, teaching and random tasks with the Alliance, but he was content. He had finally found the information he wanted. Hearing a door close to his side, Luke turned to find Mara slowly exiting Ben's room as he pulled off his boots.
"I just put him to sleep. He said to tell you good night when you got in." Mara gave Luke a small smile. He had been working hard the past few days in his excitement over finally having a way to connect with the Jedi of the past. She got the feeling that he was looking for something in particular, but had yet to call him on it. If it was important, he would tell her. They didn't keep secrets from each other. "Find anything useful?"
Luke gave Mara a small smile, but decided that now was not the time to tell her what he found. That would have to wait until the time was right. He made his way over to the bed and sat down, patting the spot next to him, silently asking Mara to do the same. She walked over and sat down on the bed next to Luke as he began to speak. "The information is invaluable, but we're going to need to be careful. The old order wasn't perfect, even Master Yoda admitted that. It's just so hard to figure out what is useful and what needs to be ignored. It's frustrating not knowing where they went wrong so that we can fix their mistake."
Mara moved behind Luke and began rubbing his shoulders, hoping to help him relieve his tension. It was just like Luke to want to tackle everything right away. Even as a Jedi Knight, Luke could still be the impulsive boy she had met years earlier. "Relax. Coruscant wasn't built in a day you know. You're not going to be able to rebuild the Jedi in a night, especially not on your own. We'll find our own way. I know it."
Mara quit rubbing his shoulders and lay back on the bed. Luke turned to look at her and could sense something amiss. He knew Mara well enough to tell that there was something on her mind even without the Force. And with the Force, he knew that whatever was on her mind was not pleasant. "Something's bothering you."
Luke said it as a statement, not giving Mara a chance to deny what he said. He knew better than to give her an opening. Under most circumstances, Mara did not readily talk about her feelings, but Luke knew how to get her to open up. For his trouble, Luke got a glare from Mara and she snapped at him. "Stay out of my head Skywalker."
Luke was not one to back down, however. If he had to play dirty, that's what he would do. He would find out what he wanted to know whether Mara liked it or not. Luke wasn't in the mood to deal with her stewing for days when getting her issues out in the open now would have both of them a good deal of stress. Luke sent a mental image of some more 'enjoyable' recreational activities to her in response to her jab. "Are you sure about that?"
Mara let out a small moan at the sensations Luke was causing her through the Force. He was the only one who could get her mind going in another direction when she was troubled and Mara was thankful for that ability. She stretched out on the bed and spoke in a low whisper. "I may make a few exceptions."
Mara's face turned into a slight pout when Luke cut off his sending. He was playing dirty. That was her job. Mara propped herself up on her elbows to glare at her fiancé. Luke just looked at her with an even expression, his face not betraying the worry Mara knew was there. "Only if you tell me what's bothering you."
Mara let out a sigh and flopped down on the bed. She may as well get it over with or Luke would be bothering her about it all night. And at this point, Mara had other plans for their evening. "I just wonder how good an idea it is to gather so many Force sensitives in one place. I know we're supposed to be training new Jedi, but this much Force potential could lead Palpatine straight to us. If he found us, who knows what he would do…especially…" Mara looked at the door to Ben's small room, not able to complete her thoughts, but Luke knew exactly what she was thinking. He worried about the same thing.
Luke lay on the bed next to Mara and stroked her arm with his hand as he looked into her eyes. "I understand. I've been shielding our presences ever since we got here. It should give us some modicum of security until we can come up with something better. Don't worry, though. No one is going to take Ben away from us. They'd have to go through me…and then you." Luke gave Mara a small smile in response to the smirk that had formed on her face. "They don't stand a chance." Leaning into to give Mara a kiss, Luke moved his hand down to Mara's stomach and lifted her shirt slightly to rest on the smooth skin. Their lips released and Luke whispered playfully against his fiancée's lips. "Unless, of course, they know your weakness."
Mara's eyes grew wide as she realized Luke's plan. "You wouldn't dare."
Luke gave her a mischievous smile as Mara tried to wriggle away from the hand resting on her now exposed stomach. "Dare what? This?" He began tickling Mara's stomach, causing her to writhe while she laughed. Luke soon joined her in laughing, thankful to have broken the tension.
"Luke, stop it…I'm serious." Mara did her best to control her laughter and give off a commanding presence, but was unsuccessful. Luke continued tickling his fiancée as Mara picked up a pillow and started to swat it at his head.
After Mara connected with one of her swings, Luke relented and threw up his hands in surrender. He looked up at Mara's beautiful smile and shining emerald eyes and gave her a small smile of his own. "Alright. I'll stop. As long as you promise not to worry anymore tonight."
Mara leaned down to bring her face closer to Luke's before letting out a low, seductive whisper with a hint of playfulness. "Oh yeah. And who's going to make me?"
Without a word of response, Luke brought his hand behind Mara's neck and pulled her into a deep kiss. He managed to keep her mind off her troubles for hours until the couple finally fell asleep in each other's arms, exhausted.