Outside, Mara was grateful for the lack of a chill in the air. Still, the warm air also served to make her feel even more sticky, and it made her skin crawl more than the arachnids had, while her dress slapped her legs damply with each move, and the broken shoe naturally kept her off-balance anyway. Ordinarily she'd have been fuming at this point, but right now she was far more concerned with Luke's reaction—or more accurately, his lack of one.

The walk back to the speeder was a silent one, save for the uneven rhythm of her mismatched shoes. They reached the speeder without running into any more lizards and with only a few passersby stopping to stare as they sloshed past, and Luke opened the passenger side door for her, still eerily calm. Mara hesitated.

"Your upholstery, Luke—"

"It'll clean," he said. "Besides, I don't happen to have any towels in the storage area."

Regretfully, Mara seated herself, wincing as wine dripped steadily off of her and onto the speeder's smooth leather seat. Luke closed her door and came around to the driver's side, climbing into the speeder without seeming to notice the rivulets of wine that slid off him.

"Your apartment, then mine," Luke said as he started the speeder. "Any other ideas for dinner?"

"Not yet," Mara said, eyeing him as she gathered her hair behind her head so the wet strands wouldn't slap against her face in the wind. "But it'll be your apartment, then mine. Yours is closer."

Luke looked over at her, a slight crack appearing in his composure. "No," he said. "You shouldn't spend more time in wet clothes than you have to."

Mara took a breath, suppressing the instinctive urge to snap that she didn't need protecting. "And you should?" she asked, hoping she sounded reasonable. "Besides, I can change out of the wet clothes at your place. You have an extra tunic and pants I could borrow until we get to my place, don't you? Better that than you trying to fit into one of my other dresses if we went to my place first."

Luke snorted, suddenly looking much more like himself, and Mara took another breath, this time in relief. The calmness that had settled over him in the restaurant was too akin to the tension of a tightly coiled spring; it made her worry about what would happen if it was suddenly released.

"Okay, my place," Luke relented. He looked over at her again. "I'm sorry, Mara. I really thought that place would be better than that."

Mara sighed. "You know, it probably is when we're not there." She smiled wryly at Luke. "We don't seem to have very good luck at this being normal thing."

"We don't, do we?" Luke shook his head and returned his attention to his piloting, smoothly shifting into another lane of traffic to avoid a driver going even faster than him. Mara hoped no traffic officers happened across their path; she doubted that a speeding citation would improve Luke's mood.

She leaned over to kiss his cheek. "As a wise man once told me, normal is overrated."

Luke glanced sideways at her and smiled. Mara slid a little closer to him on the seat and rested her head on his shoulder—although she continued to keep an eye out for stray traffic officers, just in case.

For a wonder, the fifteenth level turbolift was functioning properly tonight. They reached Luke's level without incident, though the cleaning droid would undoubtedly be miffed at the sticky trail they left in the hallway. Luke took her hand as they walked toward his door. "You still have your heart set on dancing? Because I'd be happy to share my shower if you wanted."

"Aren't you thoughtful," Mara said, amused. Still, the idea had more than a little appeal. This night was hardly going as planned; perhaps it would be best to cut their losses and spend the rest of the evening away from everyone else, normal be damned.

She opened her mouth to say so just as Luke's apartment door slid open, but her words turned into a strangled yelp. On the other side of the door stood a short, gray-skinned, needle-toothed alien.

"Barkhimkh," Luke half greeted, half inquired, the tightening of his hand on Mara's the only outward sign of his surprise. Through their bond, though, Mara could feel that he had been startled as well, which made her feel slightly better about her own momentary lapse. Slightly. "What are you doing here?"

"Master Skywalker," Barkhimkh said, with that grave air all Noghri seemed to have. "Mistress Jade. You have met with some accident?" he added, suddenly uncertain. "Do you require medical attention?"

Luke glanced wryly down at himself, and his jacket covered with splotchy dark red stains. "No, thank you. It's wine. Don't ask."

Barkhimkh inclined his head solemnly. "I shall not, then." He stood aside to let them enter, then continued. "The secondsons and seconddaughter of Vader require your presence."

Luke sighed, his eyes drifting shut resignedly.

"This is a joke, right?" Mara demanded. "Did someone put you up to this?'

Reading Noghri expressions was tricky, but Mara thought that Barkhimkh looked faintly puzzled. "It is no joke," he answered. "The Mal'ary'ush is unavailable, and her translating droid is—perhaps not the best choice of guardian."

"Are they hurt?" Luke asked, eyes still closed.

"No," Barkhimkh said consideringly, "but I believe the Mal'ary'ush would not be pleased to see the results of their actions."

"They're eleven and ten years old," Mara said, turning to Luke disbelievingly. "How much trouble could they possibly get into?"

Luke opened his eyes at that, turning an expression on her that was simultaneously exasperated and amused. "Sweetheart, most children don't grow up with the incredible level of self-discipline that you did. I routinely got into a tremendous amount of trouble at that age. So did Leia. If Barkhimkh thinks we should make an appearance, I think we'd better listen to him."

Mara crossed an arm over her chest, the elbow of her other arm resting on it as she leaned her forehead against the heel of her hand. "All right," she said with a sigh. "Let's go baby-sit."

At Luke's insistence, Mara took the first turn for a quick shower, then stuck her head out the refresher door. "Clothes?"

Sitting on the edge of the bed, his jacket thrown over the back of a chair, Luke was busy taking off his boots. He paused long enough to toss a small bundle at her, which she caught smoothly. "Thanks," she said, and ducked back in to pull them on. Luke wasn't a particularly large man, having the shorter, more compact physique of many fighter pilots, but he was still larger than she was. Even belted tightly, the pants were baggy on her, and the tunic hung nearly to her knees. Mara evaluated her reflection for a moment, then shrugged. Fashion forward it was not, but then, she wasn't especially interested in impressing the Solo kids, Threepio, or the Noghri, either.

She exited the refresher, passing Luke, who was now shirtless and holding his own bundle of clothes. "Looks good on you," he said. He winked, then disappeared into the refresher himself. Mara rolled her eyes fondly, then went to rummage in his closet.

By the time Luke emerged from the refresher, Mara had decided that, unlike the clothes, none of his boots or shoes would do. They were much too large; she'd never be able to move properly. "Can you grab my shoes?" she asked before Luke was more than a few steps beyond the refresher door. He turned back automatically, but frowned as he handed them to her.

"You're going to put those on again?" he asked. "Surely that can't be comfortable."

"More comfortable than trying to fit in anything sized for you, dear," Mara said grimly, strapping them back on. Now she really was a picture, Luke's clothes draping voluminously on her and paired with broken high-heeled dress shoes. She stood—lopsidedly—and held her arms wide. "Still look good on me?"

"You'd make anything look good," Luke answered with quick gallantry, but his eyes were doubtful.

Mara grinned. "Good answer. Let's go, before Barkhimkh works himself into whatever passes for a state with Noghri. Maybe I'll borrow some shoes out of Leia's closet. It's the least she's going to owe me for this."

"Still a cold-hearted businesswoman," Luke said, taking her hand. His palm was warm against hers, if still slightly sticky. "One of the many reasons I love you."

Mara squeezed his hand in return. "You do have strange preferences, Skywalker." She thought wistfully of their missed dinner, and added, "You don't suppose there's anything to eat at Leia's place, do you?"

"We'll find something," Luke promised. He snagged a towel from the refresher—"Upholstery," he explained in response to her quizzical look—and they headed back to the speeder, Barkhimkh in tow.

They found something, all right, Mara thought, blinking as they entered Leia's apartment. I think the technical term is "disaster area."

Machine parts were strewn over most of the floor and furniture, along with some hand spanners, datapads, and some scattered pellets that Mara thought might be animal food—or perhaps an animal's leavings. She decided not to think about that particular possibility. The gray shimmersilk drapes were askew, one pulled partway off its rod, and there were footprints on the pale blue sofa. Beyond the hallway, she could hear the children arguing loudly, along with some rather suspicious banging noises. Having seen Leia's apartment at times when it hadn't been under seige, she could well imagine that the Mal'ary'ush would indeed be displeased to see the results of her children's actions.

Beside her, Luke was muttering under his breath and looking not at all surprised. "Oh, for the love of—"

Anakin dashed into the living area and picked up one of the scattered hand spanners, then noticed the new arrivals. "Uncle Luke! Hi! Hi, Mara." The cheeriness of his tone did little to mask the guilty look on his face, and he sent a dirty look toward Barkhimkh, who was standing to the side and eyeing the living area grimly. "I didn't know you were here."

"Obviously," Luke said drily.

"Master Anakin, you really mustn't—" Threepio entered the living area well behind Anakin, clanking slightly as he walked. He saw Luke and Mara, and threw his arms up stiffly in an unmistakable expression of droid relief. "Master Luke! Mistress Mara! Thank the Maker! The children are being most trying this evening."

"I can see that, Threepio," Luke said, pinning Anakin in place with a glare. Luke took a breath, then bellowed, "Jaina! Jacen! Get out here right now!"

Silence fell abruptly. A head of tangled brown hair peeked around the corner. "Hi, Uncle Luke," Jaina said meekly. "When did you get here?"

"Never mind that. Get your brother and get out here." Jaina disappeared behind the corner, and Luke turned his glare on Barkhimkh. "None of you noticed this?"

Barkhimkh inclined his head apologetically. "We were patrolling the perimeter, Master Skywalker. Our primary responsibility was security. The Mal'ary'ush told us that her translator droid would care for the children within the apartment." He glared at Threepio out of the corner of his eye.

Threepio sputtered in indignation. "I offered the children a wide range of stories to choose from, but they simply refused to sit still. I'd like to see you do better, you gray-skinned oaf."

"Be quiet, both of you," Luke said, rubbing his forehead wearily. Mara linked her arm with his, unsure whether she was moved more by a desire to offer comfort or receive it. This was normal family life? She could expect this sort of scene if she and Luke had children? She wondered if she could talk Luke into adopting a stray rancor instead.

Jaina and Jacen reentered the living area, looking slightly wary. "Hi, Uncle Luke," Jacen said, as meekly as Jaina before him. "Hi, Mara."

Luke gestured to the mess. "Explanations?" The children all traded glances, but remained silent. Luke sighed. "Never mind. Just get it cleaned up. If this place isn't presentable before your mother gets home, you're in trouble with me as well as her."

There were more quietly exchanged glances, then, subdued, the children began gathering the debris.

Something brushed against Mara's ankle. She glanced down, but saw nothing—well, almost nothing. The hem of one of her pant legs swayed slightly. Suspicious, Mara lifted that pant leg and discovered a very familiar-looking blue lizard clinging to her ankle. It looked up at her and flicked its tongue.

"That's it," Mara said. "It's official. The entire galaxy is against us tonight."

Luke glanced down and did a double take. "Is that the same—"

"No," Mara said, bending down to gently pry the lizard off her ankle. "It has a tail. But it's definitely the same kind."

"You found him!" Jacen dashed over, hands held out. "Thanks, Mara!" Bemused, Mara handed the lizard over.

"Is this the same lizard your mother said had to stay in its cage?" Luke asked sternly.

"No, Uncle Luke," Jacen said earnestly. "This is a different one."

Mara winced. "There are more of those wandering around here?"

"No," Jacen said. "I don't think so."

Mara looked pleadingly at Luke, who took Jacen's shoulders, turned him toward the hallway, and gave him a slight push. "Go check. If any are missing, start looking for them. If they're all accounted for, get back here and help Jaina and Anakin with the cleaning." He retook Mara's arm and tugged her gently toward the kitchen. "Let's see what there is to eat, shall we?"

The answer, Mara soon found, was nothing.

Luke was muttering under his breath again as he searched through the cupboards. "How long has Han been gone, anyway?"

Mara leaned against a green-veined marble counter, looking glumly at a box of biscuit mix. The biscuits sounded reasonably good, and she was getting hungry enough that a baking attempt was no longer out of the question, but the Solos' kitchen lacked the other ingredients that the recipe needed. Most of the things the kitchen contained were along the same lines, with key ingredients missing. There were some ready-to-eat items, but mostly the heavy, greasy Corellian type that Han favored, and she wasn't that hungry yet. "Does he do all the ordering, then?"

"Mostly," Luke answered, his voice slightly muffled by yet another cupboard door. He emerged empty-handed and looking as exasperated as Mara felt. "Which is a good thing. Han's a good cook. Leia is not. But usually she's better than this about keeping the basics stocked when he's not here. I guess she's been busier than normal lately."

"Understandable," Mara said. "Still . . ."

"I know." Luke sighed. "There are a few restaurants on this block. Trouble is—"

"—we'd be taking the kids," Mara finished. "Not my first choice, especially tonight, but desperate times call for desperate measures."

"True." Luke ran a hand through his hair. "I guess I'll go see how the cleaning is going."

Mara pushed herself away from the counter. "I'm going to go check Leia's shoe collection. But Luke—no Threepio."

"Definitely not," Luke said in a tone of convincing horror, then added, "I doubt we'll be able to shake the Noghri, though."

Mara sighed. "Can't have everything."

They parted, Mara making her way to Han and Leia's bedroom, which had escaped the ravages of bored children. Exploring the closet, she found that Leia had an impressive collection of boots and shoes. She also found that Leia wore at least a full size smaller than she herself did.

And to think, Mara mused, that when this evening had started, she had almost been upset over Luke being slightly late. After the broken shoe, lost reservations, spiders, inadvertent wine bath, Luke's clothes, the Noghri, Threepio, messy children, lizards, and missed dinner, the idea seemed laughable.

Resigned, Mara returned to the living area and found that the Solo children's frightening energy levels could be channeled toward productive pursuits as well as destructive. Most of the scattered belongings were no longer to be seen, the sofa was nearly clean again, and Jaina had fixed the housekeeping droid that Anakin had been trying to dismantle and set it to vacuuming up the mysterious pellets.

Luke was eyeing the drapery. He caught Mara's eye and said, "I think this is more than I feel like tackling tonight. Leia can deal with it. Wouldn't want to erase all the evidence anyway, now, would we?"

"Definitely not," Mara said, coming to his side and looking at the torn drapery tabs. "She's going to owe us big for this one."

"To put it mildly," Luke said. He surveyed the nearly clean room, then looked back at her. "Hey, you didn't change shoes."

"Leia has impossibly tiny feet. I'd have to cut off my toes or something to fit into those shoes."

"Well, I'm glad you didn't do that. Do you want to go back to your place and get a new pair, then?"

"You said there were restaurants on this block?" Luke nodded, and Mara shrugged. "Hardly seems worth it, then. Do you know what time Leia will be back?"

"I called her while you were in the other room. I only got an assistant, but he said the meeting would probably last another two hours or so."

"Mmm." Mara looked at Jacen, who was halfheartedly trying to scrub the faded footprints off the sofa, and Jaina and Anakin, who were gathering the last bits of debris with only a little bickering to punctuate their actions. "Dinner with the kids it is, then." She looked back at Luke. "But when Leia gets back, we disappear. Your place, my place—I don't care, but the rest of the night is ours."

Luke took her hand. "Promise." Then he made a face. "Not that my other promises for tonight have worked out so well."

"This one will," Mara said, "because I will take my blaster to the first person who tries to disturb us after Leia takes the kids off our hands. And I will not have it set to stun."

Luke grinned. "Sounds good. Jacen," he said, turning back to the room, "leave that. The housekeeping droid can finish it. We're going out to dinner. Where do you guys want to go?"

"Blasteroids!" Anakin dropped his armful of tools in his excitement. Luke groaned.

"Blasteroids?" Mara asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Please?" Anakin begged, seconded by Jaina and Jacen.

"It's an interactive place for kids," Luke explained to Mara. "Noisy. Kind of obnoxious."

"Fun!" Jaina interrupted indignantly. "They have simulator rides of different starships, Mara! You can pretend you're flying an A-wing or a TIE fighter!"

"Or an X-wing," Luke suggested. Jaina made a face.

"Well, yeah—but Uncle Luke, A-wings and TIEs are faster."

Luke looked genuinely appalled. "Those are about the only two ships faster than an X-wing, Jaina. And speed isn't everything. The X-wing is way more durable than A-wings and TIEs. You're going to want that sturdiness when you're in battle. All the speed in the galaxy won't serve you as well if an enemy pilot gets a lucky shot."

"It will if you can outrun them in the first place," Jaina said, almost disdainfully.

Luke opened his mouth—surely to argue the folly of his niece's wayward reasoning, Mara thought with great amusement—but Jacen beat him to it. "There aren't only ship rides, Jaina." He turned to Mara, her obvious ignorance of the appeal of Blasteroids making her a primary target of its praises. "There are holographic animals, Mara. And games to play—if you win, you get Blasteroids credits, and you can buy prizes with them."

"Good prizes," Anakin interjected. "Not the stupid animal toys Jacen always gets."

"They're not stupid! And they're not toys!"

"Are so!"

"Not as stupid as all your toy droids!"

"They're not toys!"

"That's enough, all of you," Mara interrupted. "Fine, we'll go to Blasteroids. If your uncle says so, that is."

All three children immediately turned on Luke; obviously familiar with the pleading about to follow, he held up a hand and spoke first. "Fine, Blasteroids. Go get your jackets. And tell Threepio I'll take care of you, and he can power down for the night."

Cheers erupted, and three pairs of feet pounded down the hallway. Luke looked at Mara regretfully. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Mara said, for at least the dozenth time that night. "It's only for a couple of hours. They have food there, right? Not just games and sims?"

"Ye-es," Luke said doubtfully. "A kind of food, anyway. But like I said, Mara, it's a kids' place. All the food is aimed at kids. No shaak steak or karkan ribenes or anything especially good." He paused, thoughtful. "Although they do have ale. Probably because that's the only way the parents can get through a visit there."

Mara laughed. "You can buy me an ale, then. We'll point the kids toward the games and the sims, we'll find the least obnoxious thing on the menu, and we'll talk. Pretty much the same thing we were planning for dinner anyway, just with a lesser quality of food and more noise. We'll manage."

Luke smiled and took her in his arms. "I really do love you, you know."

"Damn right you do," Mara said, and reached up to kiss him.

"Ewww," Jaina said, reentering the living area with jacket in hand and a thoroughly disgusted look on her face.

"Want to stay home with Threepio, Jaina?" Luke asked mildly, his arms still around Mara. "I'm sure he'd love the company."

Jaina hastily pressed her lips into a thin line. Jacen and Anakin appeared from around the corner, both carrying their jackets, and Luke turned to Barkhimkh, who'd been standing silent watch by the front door since their initial entrance. "Do we need to collect any others?"

"That is not necessary," Barkhimkh said, his stern gaze still on the children. "I will serve as the protector of your group."

"All right, then," Luke said. "Everybody out. My speeder's in the usual place."

"Last one there's a Kowakian monkey-lizard!" Anakin dashed out the door with Jaina and Jacen close on his heels. Barkhimkh followed, somehow nearly matching their speed without seeming to hurry. Mara shook her head and click-clomped after them, Luke's arm in hers.

Half an hour later, Mara was sitting in a rather greasy booth dubiously eyeing a bowl of blasteroids. Whether the food was named after the restaurant or the restaurant after the food, Mara didn't know, but she thought they matched each other well. She dipped her blasteroid—some sort of deep-fried chili dumpling—in the accompanying purple sauce and nibbled at it.

"Well?" Luke asked, pitching his voice to carry above the sounds of shrieking children, holographic animal calls, simulated starship fire, and the various bells and alarms that accompanied the many games that surrounded them.

Mara chewed thoughtfully for a minute before answering. "Interesting. I could see Aves and Chin and Dankin having these during a sabacc game or something. Karrde wouldn't touch them, though. And I don't think I want to know what's in the sauce."

"Probably a good idea," Luke agreed, biting into his own blasteroid. He chewed and swallowed, then added, "These would have been a hit back in Anchorhead. I wonder when I got too sophisticated to appreciate this sort of food the way I would have when I was younger."

"I hate to break it to you, but you're not sophisticated," Mara told him. "You still like those dustcrepe things."

"Those," Luke said with superb dignity, "are a delicacy."

Mara snorted. "The Imperial court would have disagreed with you."

"So you're telling me I'm marrying a high maintenance woman who's going to drain our financial accounts buying fancy wine and such?" Luke took another blasteroid, hesitated over the sauce, then decided against it and ate the blasteroid by itself.

"If I say yes, does that mean we won't be coming back here?" Mara asked, waving back at Jaina as the girl dashed from the TIE simulator to the A-wing one.

"Well, not until we have our own kids," Luke said. "I was thinking that we could have about half a dozen. Or if you were willing to put just a little more effort into it, if we had ten, we could form a Skywalker-only squadron. Doesn't that sound like fun, Mara?"

Mara couldn't quite suppress the shudder that ran through her, and narrowed her eyes at Luke's resulting grin. "And maybe we could relocate to Nal Hutta, too."

"And open our very own franchise of Blasteroids while we're at it," Luke said, still grinning.

"One more word and I will force feed you this mystery sauce," Mara threatened.

Luke laughed. "I think we'll need some time to get used to this marriage thing before we seriously consider having children, don't you?"

"Sounds reasonable," Mara agreed. "Especially since I'm getting the sinking feeling that this is normal family life."

"It kind of is, yeah," Luke said, looking around the noisy restaurant ruefully.

"Then I need a primer course," Mara said firmly. "Normal for a couple first. When I'm used to that, then we can think about adding kids and getting used to this version of normal."

"Fair enough." Luke moved closer to her in the booth, sliding his arm around her waist and surreptitiously stroking her side with his fingertips. "How much longer until we can get back to that couple thing, by the way?"

Mara elbowed him. "Not for more than an hour yet. Behave yourself."

Luke made a face at her, but obediently released her and returned a measure of his attention to the almost-meal before them.

Mara, meanwhile, watched Anakin and Jacen playing some sort of holographic target game together. It was interesting, how each of the Solo children somehow resembled both parents, even Luke in some respects, yet looked so entirely individual. She wondered if she herself looked more like her mother or her father. Were there hints of an aunt or uncle in her, the way Anakin had Luke's cleft chin and blue eyes? How would her own children combine her features and Luke's? How strange, to think of having children at all.

She nudged Luke. "Do you think that just one or two children would be easier to handle than three?"

Luke shrugged and took a sip of his ale. "Probably, but I suspect that it depends on the child. Any child of ours is likely to be a handful, you know."

"Frighteningly true." Mara took a larger sip of her own ale.

"Hey," Luke said softly. "I was going to ask you something tonight, before everything, well—"

"Got shot straight to hell?" Mara asked, hiding a smile behind the rim of her mug.

"Yeah." Luke looked rueful, then shook his head. "All the more reason to ask you, actually. When I was talking with Tionne before I picked you up, I managed to arrange some time off."

"You did?" Mara asked, surprised. "How much time off?"

"Several weeks, starting a week from today."

Mara dropped the blasteroid she was holding. It rolled off the table and into her lap, but she barely noticed. "Weeks? Are you serious?"

"Completely," Luke said, looking hopeful. "I was thinking that maybe you could talk Karrde into giving you some time off, too. I'd understand if it couldn't be weeks, but at least something—"

"Transmit those dates to my schedule as soon as we get back to your place," Mara interrupted him. "I'll get those days off even if it means sabotaging the Wild Karrde with my lightsaber."

"What about Shada's training?" Luke asked, a shade of wariness edging the hope. "Are you sure you can get all that time off? It would be all right if you couldn't, you know."

"It would not be all right," Mara said firmly. "We've both given the galaxy enough. The galaxy can give us a few weeks. Shada can spend the time shadowing Chin or Dankin or working on one of the other ships." Mara paused, then felt a wicked grin spreading across her face as a sudden thought occurred to her. "Or she can follow Talon around for a while. In fact, if I add that suggestion to my request for time off, I'll bet he won't say a single word in protest. He'll actually be glad to get rid of me."

Luke grinned back, wariness gone. "It might be a good idea to get away from Coruscant entirely. Maybe someplace without much real technology, so no one can get ahold of us."

Mara retrieved the fallen blasteroid, whose grease was beginning to soak through her pants and burn her leg. She set it back on the table and propped her chin in her hand, enchanted. "Outer Rim."

"A nature preserve of some sort, maybe?" Luke suggested.

"I hear good things about Garqi," Mara said, surprised to find herself smiling. "Weeks, you said."

"Yeah," Luke said, sliding his arm around her waist again. The man was impossibly stubborn—but Mara found she didn't mind a bit. "We have some lost years to make up for. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Definitely," Mara said. She turned slightly in the booth and slipped her arms around his neck. "You, Luke Skywalker, are a smart man."

"I have to be, to keep up with my promised wife," Luke said, smiling at her.

"You just like saying that word," Mara accused.

"What, 'wife'? I do like saying it. I plan on saying it many more times in my life." He leaned his forehead against hers, his blue eyes very deep. He was close enough that Mara could feel his breath on her face. It smelled of cheap ale and blasteroids, but then, hers probably did too. And she'd tried the secret sauce, so he had more to forgive than she did.

Then his lips met hers, and Mara forgot all about such things. Well, almost, anyway.

A small hand tugging at Mara's sleeve interrupted them, followed by a plaintive voice. "Not again!"

Luke made an exasperated noise as he pulled back. "Jaina, do you do this to your parents, too?"

"Yes," Jaina said, making a face at him. "Kissing is gross. Mara, I set a new record on the A-wing sim! My name is on the high score list now!"

"That's great," Mara said, looking at Luke out of the corner of her eye. "I'll bet your father will be just as happy as your uncle to hear that you're flying A-wings instead of X-wings or a YT-1300, too."

"Oh, I'll fly the Falcon when I get older," Jaina said seriously. "Dad said I could. The Falcon is cool."

Luke released Mara to lean his elbow on the greasy tabletop and cover his eyes with one hand. Mara grinned. "Jaina, why don't you go get your brothers? Your uncle and I need some help to finish these blasteroids."

"Okay," Jaina said, snagging a blasteroid and dunking it thoroughly in the mysterious purple sauce before running off. Luke watched her go through slightly parted fingers.

"The only one of the three of them really interested in flying, and I can't get her to touch an X-wing," he said ruefully. "Where did I go wrong?"

Mara laughed. "She thinks kissing is gross, too. Give her time."

"Hmm," Luke said, the expression in his eyes softening as he lowered his hand. "So. Normal enough night for you?"

Mara looked around them. The restaurant was filled with children, some yelling with glee, some with disappointment; a few tables down, a toddler of a species she didn't recognize began an ear-piercing wail. Across the room, Jaina reached her brothers and smacked Jacen's shoulder, gesturing back toward Luke and Mara when he turned irritatedly on her. A variety of scents wafted on the recirculated air, none of them especially pleasant. The ale was slightly flat, and Mara fully expected a case of indigestion from the blasteroids.

And sitting next to her was Luke, his fingers entwined with hers, his eyes affectionate, his presence in the Force brushing gently against her awareness.

"Yes," Mara said, and smiled at him. "Absolutely perfect."