The Dinner Party 6

By Ash Darklighter

Disclaimer – The characters in this story are the property of Lucasfilm Ltd. I am making no credits from this either Imperial or Republican. This fic is for Sienn. Just for her encouragement, lovely nature and her willingness to give feedback to absolutely everybody. This is a PWP and if you are looking for a plot, it really isn't there.

The scene that met their eyes wasn't one that they had ever expected to see. Luke and Mara appeared to be engaged in something that resembled a version of intergalactic twister. A pair of hostile green eyes and wary blue eyes stared up at the open-mouthed crowd that had suddenly appeared at the door to Leia's study. The charred and smoking door release mechanism gave a last pathetic buzz and sparked pitifully into silence.

"Is this compromising enough for you?" Mara gritted between her teeth, the expression on her face very difficult to read.

"It's not supposed to be compromising," Luke managed to say weakly, inspiration striking him. Although he was doubtful that anyone in their right minds would actually believe him. He moved his hand a little and discreetly fastened his pants, mysteriously opened during the moves they'd been attempting to perfect. "The Jedi training text said, if you put your hands on the opponents waist - like so. Then you should be able to get more leverage for a throw."

"You were trying to throw one another in my study?" Leia said faintly.

"Yeah!" Luke stared at Mara hoping she could bail them out further. "We didn't do anything wrong, did we?"

Mara was not stupid and after just a heartbeat, she was with him. He was going to try and get them out of it? Suppose she didn't want him to get her out of it. She twisted her head back round to assess Luke, he was trying to get her attention on something. Ah, she'd unfastened his trousers. "It looks compromising, Skywalker" Mara said coldly. "Your family and friends have just walked in on what looks as if we're up to things we shouldn't be?"

"Why shouldn't we be?" Luke said thoughtfully. "Neither of us have any ties, we're both adult and have a lot in common. Just suppose we'd been compromising ourselves…" He broke off and frowned. "Isn't that a very old fashioned term borrowed from somewhere like the court of Alderaan perhaps?"

"Han, the door," Leia said reproachfully.

"Compromising sounds as if we'd no right to do what you assumed we were doing. Which, if we were doing them, is none of your business."

"You've even lost me, there, Farmboy," Mara whispered sardonically.

"Checking out some…combat manoeuvres from an ancient Jedi training text isn't illegal." Luke let his eyes travel slowly over her and suddenly froze, his eyes widening. He cleared his throat and gave two sharp nods.

'Sithspawn', she swore inwardly. Skywalker's busy hands had dislodged the top of her dress, her breast gently peeping from below the fabric. Thankfully her torso was against Luke's and couldn't be seen. He gripped the edge of the fabric with gentle hands and covered her neatly.

Han nearly laughed aloud as his brother-in-law carefully helped Mara to her feet. Mara and Luke had been doing exactly what he thought they had. Combat manoeuvres didn't leave your lips red and swollen or the marks of a man's mouth on the soft flesh of a woman, or the heavy-lidded look of her jade green eyes. But if they wanted to think that they'd fooled everybody, that was fine by him.

Wedge snickered. "Was it horizontal or vertical?"

"Get away from her…" Lando saw red and dived at Luke, preparing to pull him and Mara apart but found that Han and Wedge had him in a firm grip.

"Easy, buddy." Wedge wasn't a big man, but was wiry and strong. "You don't want them to try out their combat manoeuvres on you. They've been practising."

"They should have been doing this kind of practising a long time ago. Give it up, Lando – you can't compete." He gave his old friend a shake. "I think we've another bottle of Corellian to open," Han shouted suddenly. And he and Wedge marched Lando back into the lounge leaving Leia and Iella still staring open-mouthed at Mara and Luke.

"I'd better see to the guests," Leia murmured bemusedly.

"And I am going to see if my husband is thinking about going home."

"I wouldn't bet on it. Han has opened another bottle." Leia's voice was resigned. She gave her brother the look that spoke of explanations required but left him and Mara alone.

Iella grinned at the pair of Jedi. "I've heard some excuses in my time and that was one of the lamest. " The noise in the lounge intensified. "I think Han and Wedge are way too far down that bottle of Old Corellian. Excuse me while I try belatedly to limit my husband's exposure to alcohol poisoning."

When the Jedi still continued to stare at her in silence, Iella gave a little shrug and followed the sound of her husband's voice.

"Well?" Mara demanded once Iella had gone.

"Well what?" Luke's head was down as he examined the door. "Han sure fried this one."

"Luke!"

"Yeah?" He peered at her from under his slightly overlong fringe.

"What happened?"

"Well, I put my arm about here and you put yours there and then I did this." He leaned into her and kissed her softly. The tenderness inherent in the gesture brought unaccustomed moisture to Mara's eyes.

"I don't think that's quite right."

"No?" His forehead wrinkled in a puzzled fashion. "Well then, I could try this?" He rested his head against her forehead and then dipped lower, brushing her mouth with his. It was so sweet.

Mara's mouth opened and her tongue accepted his. She could still taste the Savareen brandy.

All Luke wanted to do was to sweep the swathe of fabric from her body and touch and taste her breasts. He ran his hand across her throat, along her collarbone, down her arm and up her side, his thumb curving up and over the rise of her breast. The nipple peaked at his touch. He groaned and pulled her tighter against him, Mara wasn't resisting him at all which didn't help.

He kissed her deeply, his hands finally coming to rest at her hips pulling her into his throbbing arousal. He needed her, he wanted her and they were pressed against one another in his sister's study which now, unfortunately, didn't have a lock on the door.

"We can't, Luke," Mara whispered, drawing away.

"Compromising position, huh?" he said, his gentle humour bringing a smile to her face.

Mara's voice was wry. "Something like that."

"Besides, you came with another man."

"Only because you didn't ask me."

"I didn't know you were here," Luke said indignantly.

"Yes you did. You always know."

He sighed. "Should we rejoin the others?"

"We haven't much choice," Mara replied reluctantly. "This is your sister's dinner party and it's in her apartment."

"I think it's degenerated into a Rogue Squadron drinking event. I haven't seen Wedge in that bad a condition for years."

Mara checked her appearance in the small mirror hanging on the study wall. She couldn't remember her hair coming down. "Wedge is pretty drunk. Iella had this resigned air about her."

Luke gave a lop-sided smile. "She'll make him pay tomorrow. That's the way things work in that relationship. But they love each other."

"Yes," Mara said quietly. "You can almost touch the feeling between them."

"At least the political people have all headed home. When Han starts serving the Old Corellian most of them know when it's a good time to quit. Suppose we were in my apartment or yours, would we be going home alone?" His voice lowered throatily and Mara could feel the ends of her fingers curl. "Or would we stay together?"

"But we don't like each other."

"Yes we do. I like you…very much," Luke drew the penultimate word out as long as he could. "Very much indeed."

"I will admit that I don't want to kill you any more."

"That's good." Luke nuzzled at a sweet spot on her neck, his fingers tracing the bare hollow of her back just above the base of her spine. "I'd like to kiss you…everywhere."

"I think I'd like that too.

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Han, lurching to the kitchen in search of ice passed the open study door. The Kid was still wrapped around Jade, who wasn't objecting and they both looked happy. Damn! He stopped, leaning against the wall. How often could he say recently that the Kid actually looked happy? He watched as they stepped away from one another, hands falling to lie listlessly at their sides. You could see them withdrawing from one another. He moved slowly back into the lounge. His friends were all there laughing and joking. Wedge was going to have a hell of a hangover the next morning and Luke and Mara Jade were standing staring at one another in Leia's study. He cursed himself for a fool – a drunken one at that. If he hadn't gone rushing in, blaster firing, the Kid might have scored with Jade.

Leia lifted her head as Han returned to the lounge. Something in her husband's face told her he was thinking hard. "Where's Lando?"

"He decided to go home," his wife answered, a strange note in her voice.

"Probably for the best," Han said. "Leia…"

"Where are they?"

"Standing staring at one another in the study."

Her decision made, Leia kissed him on the cheek. "I'll have to go and tell Mara that her lift has left without her."

"Somehow I don't think she'll be too sorry."

"Maybe not." She chuckled at the sight of Wedge trying to make Tycho Celchu down his glass of spirit in one gulp much to the disapproval of both their wives. "I'll go and give her the glad tidings. You could perhaps tell Threepio to put on the caf. Wedge is going to need quite a lot of it."

Leia left the lounge and headed for the study. Luke wasn't staring at Mara now. He was actually fixing the door. Mara was standing holding Han's tool box and passing Luke the things he asked for. It was two in the morning and her brother was doing door repairs.

"What are you doing?" Leia asked.

"Fixing the door. I reckoned as it was my fault…"

"Enough. I'll get someone in to do it tomorrow." Leia gave him her version of Mara's death glare and then turned to the red haired woman by his side. "You are without a lift."

"Lando's gone?"

"Yes," he wasn't taking your er…Jedi training very well."

"Probably for the best," Luke said quietly.

"Yes, I wouldn't have wanted to hurt him," Mara said. "And if he'd continued on the path he wanted to take. Things would have gotten nasty."

"Why, I never would have believed that, Jade," Luke gibed.

"Watch it, Farm boy. I can deal with you any time."

"Luke…" Leia hesitated and then held out her hand. "Here."

The Jedi stared in confusion at his sister and accepted what she'd handed to him. All Mara could tell was that it was flat. "Why?"

"Why do you think, brother?"

He nodded, his eyes lighting up. "Thanks."

"And Luke…" Leia brought up her other hand and handed him a bottle of something. "There are glasses in the…"

"I know." Luke handed the bottle to Mara and then kissed his sister's cheek.

"Mara," she said with a warm smile and then glided back in the direction she'd come from. "

Luke watched her until she vanished back into the lounge. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" Mara asked, as Luke grabbed her by the arm and began to hustle down the far end of the corridor towards the family rooms.

Luke's eyes burned bright blue and he bent over and kissed her hard. "Leia's given us the key to the guest suite."

"What!"

"This apartment has a self-contained guest suite." Luke waved the think strip of plasti that Leia had given him across a sensor. It's her way of saying that she approves."

"Approves of what?" Mara's voice was cold.

Luke adopted his most innocent expression. "Jedi training manoeuvres. She's saying that you've compromised me."

"I've compromised you?" Mara's voice rose and Luke tugged her inside and hit the door closure.

"Yup and I'm ready to be compromised some more."

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