Disclaimer: Same as before. Mr. Lucas owns all of this but Katri, Derin, Saber, Jett and Arianna are mine so if you want to use them please ask first
"Finally," Luke muttered as the machine groaned to life. "I thought we'd never get that wire rerouted." He turned to Ari. "And you are a better mechanic than you give yourself credit. I might have missed the loose converter." Ari smiled with a shrug. She shielded her eyes, noting where the suns were positioned.
"Bantas n' nerfherders," she muttered, using a phrase she had picked up from Fixer's group. "Luke, it is late. My parents are going to kill me," she exclaimed.
Luke noted the suns' positions and nodded. He jumped into the speeder with a whistle. Saber took a leap into the back as Ari powered up the speeder.
"Is your uncle going to be mad you aren't out doing the rest of your chores?" she asked, knowing that he might be upset if he knew they had only finished fixing one machine.
"Most of the other stuff I need to do is near home. Don't worry about me. I worry about you getting into trouble," he told her, glancing over at her.
'Those eyes…I could just melt…Blazes, get a hold of yourself.' Ari mentally kicked herself. She had kept telling herself and everyone else that she and Luke were just friends. Was it possible she thought of him as more than that?
"I…I won't be in trouble," she stammered, trying to compose herself. Luke looked at her oddly for a moment, and then nodded. The trio was quick to make it back to the Lars' homestead.
"Hey, I'm going to try to stop at Tosche Station in again this afternoon. If you can get out, which I hope you can. It's been awhile since we have all been together," Luke told her as he hopped out.
"I don't know. I'll see," Ari answered. "I'll let you know," she motioned to her communicator that had a permanent place on her belt.
"Alright. I'll talk to you soon," he smiled. Ari smiled back and waved as she urged the speeder forward. Saber quickly jumped into the passenger seat and looked at Ari, her tongue hanging out, looking like she had a big grin. Ari couldn't help but laugh.
All too soon she was back home. She parked the speeder next to another speeder, that looked almost new, in front of the garage area. She walked in to where her family was just finishing lunch.
"You missed lunch," her father told her.
"It's alright," she replied. "Whose speeder is that outside?"
"Ours," Jett smiled, placing his plate and silverware on the table before running out the door.
"We have two?" Ari asked, a bit surprised.
"For a bit. The one we have now is getting old. I plan on going to sell it in the next month or so," her father replied, getting up from the table.
"Does that mean I can use the other speeder?" Ari asked hopeful.
"With permission. I don't want you to be running off at any moment of the day," he replied, giving her a stern look. Ari looked down, scruffing her foot on the floor.
"Could I maybe use it later this afternoon?" she asked.
"To go gallivanting with those kids from the station? No. I don't want you running off anymore today."
"But-" Ari started to protest
"No buts. I need your help," he interrupted her then walked out.
"Can't you talk him into it?" Ari asked her mother.
"He is in a bad mood today. You won't get anywhere arguing with him today," she replied. "I'm sorry."
Ari sighed and walked back to her room, Saber at her side.
"Hey Luke," she greeted him into the comm.
"Hey," he answered. "You in trouble?" he asked, concerned.
"No. But he said I can't go anywhere else tonight," she replied, making a face, even though she knew Luke couldn't see it.
"I'm sorry. That is too bad," he sighed. "Though, I guess I shouldn't be too upset that Uncle Owen doesn't seem too happy on the idea of letting me go out either."
"Is he mad about how long it took?" Ari asked.
"No. He is just being very strict because it is almost harvest time."
"Oh…oh guess what, we got a new speeder," Ari told him. The pair talked for a few more minutes.
"Uncle Owen is calling for me. I'll talk to you later though." Luke told her.
"Talk to you later."
Ari set to work on a one of the hoverlifts, which she was finally able to fix. She smiled, happy she had fixed it without any help, and noticed it was getting a bit later.
She then took out a present she was working on for Jett with a few parts she had collected. Luke was helping her also. Jett's birthday was in just a few days and she was trying to put the finishing touches on it. It was a hoverboard, which she knew he really wanted. She also knew that her mother would think it was dangerous, but Jett, while wild at times, wouldn't do anything too insane. She set it on hover to see if it was going too high, which is was even when Jett would have his entire weight on it, so she adjusted it.
"Ari…if you can, answer." Luke's voice came in over the com.
"Hey, what's going on?" she asked, noticing there was something in his tone that sounded different.
"Listen, I don't have a long time to talk, I will after dinner, but we bought this protocol droid and an R2 unit. And it has this recording on it that I found. And Ari, the girl in this message is breathtaking. So beautiful. She is dressed in all white and…" Luke took a deep breath to collect his thoughts. "She looks like an angel," he finally breathed.
Ari bit her lip, fighting back tears that she knew she shouldn't have. She was almost certain now that her feelings for Luke were more than just feelings someone has for friends.
"Oh?" she asked, her voice a bit strained. She cleared her throat as he continued
"Yeah. And she is looking for someone named Obi-Wan Kenobi. There is more of the message that I haven't been able to get yet."
"Obi-Wan Kenobi? You think he might be related to Old Ben?" Ari asked.
"Must be. Too strange to be a coincidence. I have to run because they are calling me, but I wanted to tell you. I will com you after dinner."
"We are going to be eating in a bit, so give me some extra time."
"Ok, talk to you soon."
"Bye for now." Ari sighed as she clipped the com back on her belt. Her thoughts raced. Luke was her friend. Her best friend. Not someone she could fall in love with. She sighed again, putting the hoverboard away.
"Ari, dinner!!" Jett's voice called.
"Ok!" she called back. She motioned for Saber to follow and made her way to the main building where everyone else was already taking their seats. Ari sat down in her chair while Saber laid down a small distance away from the table. Ari's mother placed a few dishes on the table, then also took her seat. The family started to pass the food around, making small talk. Ari barely listened, she was too busy trying to figure out what her feelings for Luke actually were.
"Ari…" Jett waved his hand in front of her face.
"Huh? What?" she blinked, breaking her train of thought.
"I asked how the lift is?" her father repeated.
"Oh, good. I fixed it," Ari replied, then taking a bite of her food.
"Good," he answered. There was still a bit of tension from the fight earlier, this made conversation almost forced to help ease it.
"We are going to see the Owen, Beru and Luke tomorrow," her mother spoke up after a moment.
"Oh?" Ari asked.
"Yes, tomorrow for lunch."
"That sounds nice," Ari replied. She was happy she would get to see Luke, even though she had just seen him. This led her to start daydreaming again, eating automatically.
"Good dinner," Ari praised her mother as she got up, placing her plate on the counter. She had only half tasted it, her mind a million galaxies away.
"Thank you, Ari," her mother replied. Ari gave her a small smile, then left, hurrying outside. She leaned with her back against 'her' small building, then slowly sunk to the ground until she was sitting. She looked up at the sky, waiting for Luke to com her, as well as for the stars to appear.
"Ari?" a small voice chirped over the comm. Ari grabbed her comm off her belt and answered.
"It's me."
"Ari, I have a big favor to ask of you," Luke sounded serious and nervous.
"What's wrong?" Ari asked, concerned.
"I am dead. Remember that R2 I told you about?"
"Yeah, the one with the message?" Ari purposely left out the mention of it being some beautiful girl.
"Yes. It ran off. I came back from dinner and it was gone. I had taken off the restraining bolt to see if I could get more of the message. That little droid tricked me."
"It ran off? Banthas n' nerfherders! What can I do to help?"
"I am going to go looking for him tomorrow morning, as soon as the suns are up. It is too dangerous to go now, with the Sand People out there. Do you think you could check in the other direction? We could cover twice as much ground that way."
"Sure," Ari answered, without hesitation.
"I owe you," he replied with a trace of a small smile in his voice.
"No worries."
"I'll com you in the morning then. And Ari? Thank you so much. For everything I mean. Not just this, though it is big. For everything though."
"You're my best friend, I'd do anything for you," Ari told him softly.
"And you are mine…Arianna. Take care until tomorrow." Ari shivered slightly, though it wasn't from the cold. It was how he had said her name. She couldn't explain it, other than she had never heard anyone say her name like that before. And she loved it.
"You too, Luke," she whispered, though not into the com, but into the wide open plain of sand. Sand that seemed to take her words from her as she said them, taking them dancing and skipping through the night air. She got up and started back her room and heard her father tell her he was about to power everything down. Ari looked back over the sea-like sand, a breeze changing the hills and dunes. "I think I love you Luke," she whispered then turned and went inside.