So, I lied. I said I was posting this Thursday, but I'm going to Magic Mountain and won't be able to. So instead of posting late, I'm posting early. I wanted to post early anyways. Next chapter still comes on Saturday though. Sorry.

Disclaimer: Don't own Star Wars.

Chapter Thirteen

A week had passed in their training. A week full of physical and emotional exertion, a week of Force exertion, and a week of Yoda's cryptic comments about attachment.

They were running through the trees, hopping between the vines and swinging low to the ground only to climb back up again. Yoda was attached to Luke's back as he ran along.

"Run!" Yoda ordered, as the trees zipped past them. Mara kicked off the base of a tree and hopped between a corridor as Luke flipped forward over a vine. "A Jedi's strength flows from the Force. But beware of the darkside."

Mara grit her teeth as an image of Palpatine's ruined face floated to the forefront of her mind. Anger bubbled within her and she siphoned it off into the Force and pushed herself harder.

"Anger, fear, aggression," Yoda continued. "Emotions of the Dark Side they are. Easily they flow, but beware the path they lay. Once the Dark Side has its hold, forever will it dominate your destiny."

"What about me, Master?" she panted. "I was trained strictly by fallen Jedi and the Emperor."

"Teach you much, they did not," Yoda stated firmly. "Holding you back they were, and for that the Dark Side never consumed you."

Mara swallowed and nodded as they slowed into a clearing.

"Is the Dark Side stronger?" Luke asked, slight hesitation in his voice.

"No," Yoda said.

"How can we know the good from the bad?" Luke asked, looking over his shoulder at the Jedi Master.

"When you are calm, patient, focused," Yoda told him. "You will know."

"Is there a way to avoid the Dark Side, Master?" Mara asked.

"Follow the code," Yoda said. "Once you start down that dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Like Obi-Wan's apprentice."

"Vader," Luke hissed.

"Beware of your hate, Young Skywalker," Yoda encouraged. "The path Vader walked, laid with hate it was."

Luke swallowed and nodded, closing his eyes as he looked down in shame.

"Peace, calmness," Yoda said. "These are the emotions of a Jedi. It pleases the Force, and bathed in light they are. Way of the Jedi they are. Knowledge and defense. Never for attack."

Yoda sighed and closed his eyes, leaning away from Luke's back. "Nothing more will I teach you today. Clear your mind, and rest." Luke released Yoda from his back and the Jedi Master began hobbling over towards his home. Mara walked towards the tree where they had lain their jackets and lightsabers earlier. Luke tugged on his coat whereas Mara merely draped it over her arm. The light was waning, signaling the approach of night.

"C'mon," Mara smiled and nodded her head in the direction of their camp before starting the trek back. Yoda was already in his home by the time they returned, light on and smoke rising from the small chimney. Mara glanced at their camp and groaned.

"Oh no," she cried out, heading towards her tent. A huge rip went clear down the side, and several Jubba Birds cawed and ripped at her tent. "Shoo, go!"

The birds cocked their heads and looked at her until the snap-hiss of Luke's Lightsaber igniting scared them off.

"Thanks," she mumbled to him as he retracted the azure blade. "What am I gonna do now?"

"You can have my tent," Luke offered, examining the scraps that remained of hers.

"I can't steal your tent," she shook her head and looked at him. Luke's brow was furrowed in thought and he blushed and looked away.

"What?" she asked and he turned back and grinned sheepishly at her.

"I was just thinking that left one other option," he said and she waited for the punch line. "We could share my tent."

"What?" she asked, her eyes bugging. "Can we fit?"

"Yeah," Luke shrugged. "The tent could fit us and Yoda, and a few of those Jubba Birds."

"I don't want to room with the Birds or Yoda."

"What about me?" he asked hesitantly.

"You're not so bad, Farmboy," she grinned and Luke's face lit up.

"Then by all means, move in," he offered. Mara rolled her eyes before reaching through the ripped flap and pulling out her rolled up sleeping sack and pillow.

Luke went to grab the rations and opened them up for himself and Mara by the time she finished moving her things.

"Thank you," she said sincerely as she sat across from Luke.

He smiled at her. "No problem," he shrugged. "Besides, what wouldn't a guy do to get a beautiful woman in his room?"

Mara paused, her ration halfway to her mouth. She looked up at Luke. "You think I'm beautiful?"

"Most beautiful woman I've ever seen," he said, no trace of humor on his face. Slowly, very slowly, a smile etched itself onto her face as she took a bite of the tasteless ration.

"No one's ever said that to me before," she admitted.

"You apparently haven't spent enough time while the other Rogues are inebriated then," he smirked. "But that's not the point."

"Right," she nodded. They lapsed into silenced as Mara thought over their conversation. He thought she was beautiful. Beautiful... But what did that mean? Did that mean he was attracted to her, or was he stating a fact or... Did he like her the same way she liked him?

"What are you thinking about?" Luke asked and she looked up, realizing she'd stopped eating her ration and was staring off into space with a thoughtful look on her face.

"Oh, uh, nothing," she shrugged, taking a huge bite of her ration and chewing slowly.

"Didn't seem like nothing," he grinned. She shook her head, mouth still full of the ration. "You gonna just keep chewing until I stop asking or are you going to actually tell me?"

She swallowed and blushed slightly. "I was just thinking about... Our training." She'd almost told him the truth, but she couldn't quite put herself out there like that. It was too vulnerable.

"What about it?"

"Attachments," she said, and her eyes widened as she realized it was the truth. She looked up at Luke and he had a sad look on his face.

"What... What about them?" he choked out.

"Are they really that bad?" she asked quietly. Luke's eyes shot to hers in surprise.

"I don't know," he admitted.

She nodded, knowing they really didn't need to say anymore on the subject.

To say that the sleeping situation was awkward was an understatement.

Mara hefted her bag of clothes up on a container and pulled out her sleep shorts and a fresh tank. At that moment Luke emerged from his tent with his bag, going to do the same thing.

"Did you want to change first or should..." he trailed off, pointing a thumb towards the tent.

"Your call," she said, shrugging.

"Why don't you go ahead and take it," he smiled and she nodded and ducked into the tent. She dressed quickly, grimacing at her sticky limbs. She'd only had that simple stream nearby to rinse off in, giving her whole body an unwashed feel. It didn't help that the humidity of the planet clung to her like shirt too small did. She pulled the hair tie out of her hair, shaking loose her wavy red hair. She emerged from the tent and Luke turned and gaped at her.

She raised an eyebrow and he blushed and looked down before ducking past her into the tent. She walked over to her bag and stuffed the used clothes in before grabbing her brush and yanking it through her hair.

Luke came out of the tent in only sleep pants, his muscled chest bare. Mara blushed as she saw him, her stomach growing a warm feeling before she looked away. A shirtless Luke Skywalker was not an image that would easily be purged from her mind.

"You ready?" Luke asked and she looked up at him in blank question. "For, uh, to sleep?"

"Right!" she said, grinning. She shook her head and ran a hand down her face. "Right, uh, yeah."

He swallowed heavily and nodded, ducking back into the tent. She followed, unzipping her sleep sack and getting in, but leaving it unzipped still. The heat was barely waning in the night.

Luke fumbled next to her with his bag, making the simple action seem almost awkward. He grinned and slid into the sack himself. They were facing each other, the limited light that filtered through the material of the tent barely highlighting their features. It only gave them a vague outline of where the other one was.

Mara closed her eyes and focused on sleep, listening to Luke's steady breathing and heart beat. Every nerve in her body felt alive at the proximity between her and Luke. It wasn't like they had never slept next to each other before. They had on their first night on Dagobah.

They'd also woken up spooned together. Mara furrowed her brow at the unwelcome reminder of that morning. She'd spent the majority of the day purging those memories from her mind.

They were wanted memories, sure. But at the same time they were very inconvenient. She couldn't focus on Luke during the day and remember those thoughts.

"Mara," Luke's voice cut through the darkness. Her eyes opened uselessly to stare at his darkened face.

"Yeah?"

There was a pause, long and lengthy as the only sound between them was their heavy breathing.

"Luke?" she asked. She sat up and realized Luke wasn't awake. His steady breathing and heartbeat were the same as when he was awake, but when she touched his Force presence, he was clearly unconscious.

Mara bit her lip as she touched his forehead and probed lightly with the Force. It wasn't a mind probe, but merely a deeper looking at his thoughts. Part of her felt like she was betraying Luke's trust completely.

She closed her eyes in concentration. Luke's mind shield had fallen down some in his sleep. He'd had no need to keep it up. She probed slightly and fell into his mind, a slight gasp exiting her lips.

She looked around Luke's dream-like world and noticed how the horizons were blurry, as if he almost couldn't concentrate on them.

"Luke?" she called out, and held her hand up against the bright light of the sky. She stepped forward to the lone sand-colored house and heard sand crunch under her feet. She stepped forward again and entered the small home, heading down the stairs into the underground portion of the home.

"Luke?" she called out again. She heard laughter from the dining area, and walked towards it to see. As she rounded the corner, she saw Luke covered in old tunics. There was no blaster or lightsaber on his belt either.

"Mara!" he called out and happily called out to her. "We were just talking about you!"

"You were?" she asked, and he stood and walked over to her. He kissed her on the cheek and wrapped a hand around her waist, pulling her over to the table. She immediately noticed Han and Leia sitting across from them, smiling happily.

"Of course!" he answered, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Where have you been? I thought you said you were out to get some Blue Milk?"

She forced a grin and decided to play along with his dream. "Uh, yeah, they were all out, sorry."

"Darn," he sighed. "Can't get good Blue Milk outside of Tatooine."

"Nope," she agreed, though she'd had no previous reference to go off of.

"So Leia," Luke continued, switching back to the conversation as he sat down across from Han and Leia on the table. His arm was still attached to her waist, and his thumb rubbed circles there. "When are you due?"

"Seven months," she grinned proudly, looking up happily at Han who threw an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to him.

"That's fantastic," Luke smiled. "I'm so happy you two finally got over your stubbornness."

"Me too," Han agreed. "What about you two? Everyone at Hoth had been waiting for you guys to make a move."

"Eh," Luke shrugged. "It had to grow naturally. Right?" Luke turned to her and her heart fluttered as she realized everything Luke was dreaming about. He was dreaming about being with her.

"Yeah," she grinned, and leaned in to kiss him. As their lips touched, she was thrown out of the dream and back into reality.

The light outside was starting to lighten and she realized she'd actually fallen asleep into Luke's dream. She felt his breath shudder against her back and realized they were spooned together again, their sleep sacks carelessly discarded around their legs. Luke tilted his head into her hair again as he had the other day, though this time he was still thoroughly asleep.

"Mara," he breathed out into her hair. His breath on her neck sent an electric thrill through her body. Her leg shifted along his, and she realized that their legs were twisted together. Luke's hand that was draped over her waist began rubbing circles against her ribs. She smiled and closed her eyes at his tender affection.

She leaned her head back against his chest, fitting it in the crook of his neck. She never wanted that moment to end.

She bit her lip as she realized she had fallen too deeply for Luke Skywalker. A tear slipped down her face and she didn't bother to wipe it away. She could never have Luke like that. They were to become Jedi. Even Master Yoda said no to attachment. This was clearly attachment that needed to be severed as soon as possible.

"Mara..."

Her breath hitched and shuddered as every time he clutched her tighter to him felt like a stabbing knife in her chest. She couldn't do this. Luke's future was as a Jedi. He couldn't have that if she was with him.

She quietly untangled legs from his and leaned away from his chest before pulling his hand away from her stomach. Luke moaned and grumbled something into his pillow as she stood and exited the tent. Tears streamed down her face as she went towards the stream. She sat on a log and dipped her toes in the warm flowing water. Sobs escaped her chest and she clutched her stomach, hunching over and letting herself cry.

So... Who hates me? I assure you, this has to happen. They were getting too close. You'll understand why in the next chapter. Also, the dream sequence came out of nowhere, but it was fun. Reminds me of Inception. Also a fantastic movie.

In case you didn't guess, in the dream they were on Tatooine and Luke's outfit resemble that of what he wore in ANH. It's a dream, and isn't meant to be specific. Dreams are your brain defragging itself. It takes snippets of everything you've encountered, like temporary internet files, goes through them, and deletes them. That's why it's hard to remember dreams.

I'm also a computer nerd, if you haven't guessed. Not that I'm bragging (I totally am) but I built my computer myself for Christmas. It is really fast. I can give you the nerdy specs, but you don't care. lol

NEXT CHAPTER: Cave of the Dark Side

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