Two Words: Puberty Sucks

Adolescence is a very awkward time. It never helps to be a Sith in training and going through that particularly awkward time. You're trying so hard to prove you're an adult – responsible, powerful.

"You're stupid!"

"No, you're stupid!"

"Well, you're stupid-er!"

"Stupider isn't a word, stupid!"

"No, you're stupid!"

But you still act like a child.

Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade were fighting. It was a customary occurrence, and had been ever since the two had first met. As regular as the moon over the misty mountains, the two argued. Constantly. About anything. They didn't even know what they argued about half the time. If Luke said that something was black, clearly it was white to Mara, and vise versa. The current argument was made worse by the fact that they were supposed to be training – of course they weren't – and that their hormones were making them act oddly.

"Look, all I'm saying is-" Luke stopped and clamped his jaw shut, blush starting to rise to his cheek.

A grin spread across Mara's cheeks; ammo. "Your voice broke," she teased ruthlessly. That was happening a lot, too, and Luke couldn't wait until it found its pitch and stayed there. "My voice never breaks," she flaunted mercilessly, flipping her red hair over her shoulder.

"At least I'm not the one bleeding all over myself."

Bad move, Skywalker. Very bad move. Rule number one of being a guy: You never upset a woman who's PMS-ing.

With a snarling cry, Jade had launched herself at Luke, and Skywalker was booking it as fast as possible away from the Force Sensitive. After a few minutes of very terrified hunting and running, Luke shielded his thoughts and slid behind a pillar. He could hear Mara's frustrated sort of growl as she sought.

"That's not fair, Luke!" she cried, stomping around the room in an effort to find him. "When I find you, I'm going to make you wish you'd never been born!"

She passed by the pillar, pausing to try and use the Force to flush her quarry. That was unnecessary. Luke tackled her from behind with a cry, and they both fell to the floor, wrestling fiercely.

"What are you two doing?"

They separated instantly and clambered to their feet as fast as anything. Mara was glaring daggers at her adversary while Luke looked at his feet.

"Nothing, Father," he said, much more placating in order to avoid punishment.

Darth Vader watched them skeptically. "Really? It didn't look like nothing."

"It was," assured his son, glancing up briefly before staring at his black shoes again.

"Didn't I tell you two to be practicing?"

"We were practicing!" piped in Mara, as much in defense of Luke as to save her own skin. They were friends. They'd never admit it, but they were all the other had of companions. The time they spent together was generally limited, but they understood each other. They were both Force users growing up with the only option they had – as Sith. That meant no outside world and no stable relationships. It meant being trained to hunt and kill better than the best bounty hunter in the galaxy. The difference was that Mara was the Emperor's Hand while Luke was an Imperial Prince. But it didn't matter. The difference of their genders was more keenly felt than their position on the Sith Social Ladder. They had the common element. They had each other.

"It certainly didn't look like practice either," Vader continued, crossing his arms. Luke shrank ever lower to the ground under the heavy stair of his father. Had it been anyone else, Jade might have accused the young Skywalker of cowardice. But this was the boy's father, and he'd have to put up with the aftermath of their little brawl long after Mara was free and clear.

"We were taking a break," Luke supplied, trying to make it sound truthful. It didn't.

"Break's over. Back to work."

The two scurried off before any sort of punishment could be dealt out. Back to where they'd begun, Luke and Mara shared a look.

"I still think you're stupid."