Okay, before any of you yell at me for the recent poor timing of updates, let me explain how my summer got really boring! I have work for my AP History class to do during the day so updates will be here when they are. I'll try to update as regularly as I can, and I don't foresee skipping weeks at a time. I'll probably only ever be a day or two late. No crisis.

Also, this chapter is short for dramatic effect. Yeah, lame, I know.

DISCLAIMER: Ahsoka is Red; Aayla is Blue; Star Wars, you're cool; Too Bad I don't own you.

Chapter Twenty-Six

As the speeder pulled to a stop in front of the Lars homestead, the only thing that gave away its abandonment were the smoke stains still prevalent at the entrance.

"This is where you lived?" Mara asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Yeah," Luke replied distantly. Images of his Aunt and Uncle's bodies laying just out the door flashed through his mind and he had to work to push them out. It did no use to think about that. He walked forward and around the side, immediately noticing the two new headstones.

Owen Lars, Loving son, Husband, and Uncle

Beru Whitesun Lars, Loving Aunt and Wife

They were buried right next to each other, the same way his grandparents were. The only person on the entire family plot he was truly related to was his Grandmother, Shmi. The mother to his father. The mother to Darth Vader.

"Wow," Mara murmured after a moment and Luke glanced at her.

"What?"

"There is a lot of devotion in this family," she said. "Think about it. Your aunt and uncle took you in, and from what you've told me, they technically weren't even related to you except for the fact that your Uncle's father married your grandmother. They really had no ties to you, but they took you in anyway."

"I guess I never really thought of it that way," Luke admitted, glancing at the horizon. The suns would be setting in a few hours, and the shadows were already growing long.

"C'mon," Mara said, looping her arm around his. "Let's go inside."

Luke nodded, slightly surprised at her behavior since their small... Was it a fight? They didn't argue. Luke pushed the thought away and went down into the underground home. The walls were still charred, and what little furniture they did have was burnt to a degree.

Luke stared around in slight dismay. He'd grown up here. His whole life was this small moisture farm, and now it was gone.

He turned and headed across the quart yard to the living quarters and he flinched as he saw the state of the belongings. The burn damage was less here, but still the Stormtroopers had tossed aside many pieces of belongings. Luke picked up the small Lambada space craft model he'd gotten for his thirteenth birthday, staring at the snapped wing and scorched nose.

Mara squeezed his arm tighter as the advanced through the rooms. Luke hesitated before walking through the doorway into his old bedroom. Droid parts littered the floor and old Holos were smashed.

"It's so weird..." Luke murmured.

"What is?"

"I knew this place was ruined when I first saw it four years ago, but now it's real," he said, and looked back at her. "I lived my whole life here."

"You were lucky to escape that day, Luke," she said, reaching for his hand and clasping it tightly.

"I'm not the only one that escaped, Mara," he said and stared into her jade eyes. "Don't ever forget that."

"I don't think I can," she said, and kissed him once on the lips. He sighed internally that she had forgiven him enough over the Camie situation to show that kind of affection.

"I'm sorry," he whispered as she pulled away.

"For what?"

"For not telling you about my past," he said, knowing she knew what he was referring to. She closed her eyes and looked down.

"I'm sorry for blowing up at you," she whispered. "I was just so angry at her, that the thought of her being able to touch you, to hold you like I can makes my blood boil. I was just so mad at how she was treating you, us, that the thought of you and her..."

"Shh," he shushed. "I know. But it was years before I even thought getting off Tatooine was possible, let alone falling in love with someone as remarkable as you."

Mara looked up into his eyes. "I love you."

"I will always love you," he said, clutching her hands between them. "Always. Don't you forget it. I would travel the galaxy to find you if you were lost."

A sly grin tugged at her mouth as she thought of the idea of spending a lifetime with the man in front of her. The idea was appealing, that was for sure. She almost found herself wishing it to be true. That they could live together outside of hiding... That the Empire was gone... that the rebellion won.

"I like the sound of that," she whispered and leaned her forehead against his. He grinned and closed his eyes, stretching out with the Force and touching the growing bond between them. He pushed on it, enlarging it, and tying it between them. A rush of feelings from Mara came through, filling him up.

Mara gasped slightly as she felt Luke's undying love for her fill her chest with a growing warmth. All the love, the worries of losing her, and the ideas of a life with her. They all connected to her very core, embedding themselves inside.

"Wow," she murmured. The connection between them was greater than any she'd ever felt. Even her forced tie to the Emperor was a miniscule dot compared to this. And she had been able to hear him from anywhere in the galaxy...

"Yeah," he said, breathing heavily. "I didn't know I could do that."

"I didn't know it was possible," she grinned and kissed him roughly on the mouth. "I love you, Skywalker."

"I love you too, Jade."

"Do you have any idea how to do this?"

"Not one. I think you have to use the Force but I'm not sure."

"It would make sense to."

"Yeah, really. Maybe Ben had some sort of book..."

"Cause that makes sense. Wouldn't they teach this thing in the Temple?"

"Yeah, I guess..."

"Think about it, Skywalker."

"I can't with you talking in my ear!"

"Fine."

"Stop talking in my head too."

"Only if you stop talking in mine."

"You're incorrigible."

"I know you are but what am I?"

"You two are worse than two year olds!" Leia called from across the room, rubbing her temples to soothe her ever growing headache.

"Sorry," Luke murmured, a blush creeping across his face.

"Luke started it," Mara grumbled, pulling her knees up to her chest like a small child. He huffed in response and went back to fiddling with the lightsaber parts.

"What if we just let the Force tell us what to do?" he asked after a few minutes and closed his eyes. Mara watched as the parts of the lightsaber lifted up and began pulling together, the power cell rotating to link the wires up and the crystal falling into place towards the top of the chosen cylinder.

Leia let out a small gasp as she watched with fascination as Luke focused on the individual parts of the weapon.

Mara pushed at the bond and saw exactly what Luke was doing, and closed her eyes to mimic him. All the individual pieces to the weapon felt alive to her. Every part had a living essence suddenly, and with concentration she manipulated them together.

They sat in silence, their palms upwards and resting on their knees as they controlled the building process. The Force flowing around the room was almost tangible, and to them it was. They could feel everything moving through their bond as they shared power. It was a new experience for both of them, and if Mara felt naive, she'd say it was new for anyone. She could never have imagined the way her and Luke's bond together would have been possible merely a year ago.

But it was.

An hour passed, then two. Chewie and Leia came and went from the small living area, careful not to disturb the two Jedi. At the start of the third hour, the first sun fell beyond the horizon. As the second kissed the horizon, only then did Luke and Mara open their eyes. Floating in front of them were two fully constructed lightsabers.

"What do we do now?" Mara asked in a whisper.

"I think we charge the power cell."

She nodded, reaching out for the blade and taking it out of the air. Closing her eyes once more, she felt the Force flow around her before she channeled it into the weapon. She opened her eyes with a grin.

"I think it's ready," she said.

Luke grinned and grabbed his own weapon out of the air and charging it as she did. He opened his eyes and smiled at her.

"C'mon," he said, standing up and grabbing her hand. She rose from the floor and followed quickly behind him, out into the twilight air.

Tatooine was one of those odd planets. Its two suns burned brightly in the day and made life nearly miserable with heat, and forcing all inhabitants to live amongst the poles. But as night fell and the moons came out, a chill fell across the land, forcing people inside to avoid the risk of hypothermia. You could go out still of course, but it wasn't recommended in day clothes. The light, loose clothes of the citizens of the desert planet were designed to not trap heat and to keep the body cool, exactly the opposite of what you needed as the suns fell.

Luke pulled Mara out of the old Sandstone home and up to the edge of the cliff face Ben had decided to live on. The second sun, Tatoo II, was falling, nearly halfway below the horizon.

"Are you ready?" he asked her, and she nodded. Together they reached out their blades away from their body. Are you ready? Luke asked through the bond.

Always. She sent back, grinning slyly into the sunset. Together they ignited their blades. Emerald and Violet light sprung forth from their lightsabers, humming quietly in the still air.

"You know what this means, right?" Mara asked, glancing at Luke.

"What?" he asked, curious as to where she was taking this.

"Our training is complete," she smiled. "We're Jedi now."

Fun Trivia fact about the first draft of A New Hope:

Anakin was originally King of the Bebers and Luke was Prince. Later, Anakin's name became Justin, essentially making him Justin of the Bebers.

Yeah, I know. Lame, but I honestly couldn't stop laughing for like a half hour. It still makes me giggle. In the second draft of ANH though, Leia was Luke's cousin... And George was writing in a romance. Weird, but legal in most states of the US.

I'll keep posting cool facts as I read the Making of Star Wars. It's actually about as cool as the Making of ESB. I'm still up in the air as to whether I'll invest in the book for RotJ when it comes out.

NEXT CHAPTER: Final Preparations before the Rescue.