Chapter 51
AN: WOOHOO! A longer chapter this time. Please R&R everyone! And Happy New Year!!!
"And then you showed up here," Ari shrugged.
"I….I can't believe this!" Luke exclaimed. "You fought a bounty hunter! Do you know how insane that was? You could have been killed!"
"But I wasn't," she pointed out, not exactly liking how overly protective he was being all of a sudden. "Luke, I thought you would be excited by it."
"Excited? Ari, you could have been killed!"
"And you were…" Ari muttered, her feeling of accomplishment feeling crushed.
Luke sighed, seeing that this was not going well. "Look, Ari, I am proud of you. I just don't want you hurt. You are still my best friend. Even after a month. Even if it had been years, you will always be my best friend. Nothing will change that. I just am trying to look out for you."
Ari nodded with a sigh. She could see his point, but that didn't help like he probably had wanted it. Both of them were silent, Ari in her own thoughts, while Luke was waiting for some sort of reaction from Ari.
"We should probably be getting to bed. It is late. Well, not too late, but I know I am exhausted. You probably are too," Ari finally spoke up.
"Yeah," Luke nodded. Another moment passed before he asked, hesitantly. "You aren't mad still are you?"
"You make it hard for me to stay mad at you," Ari told him with a half smile. The fact was, she hadn't been mad to begin with. Upset, and a bit hurt. She didn't want to get into it now though.
Luke smiled back then pulled her into a hug, which Ari returned. "I am glad you are back," she admitted, cheek resting against his shoulder. It felt so good to be like this with him again.
"Good, I plan on being around for awhile," he told her as he released her from the hug.
"You better. I have to show you how much improvement I have made with my saber," she grinned.
"Well, I am sure a lot since you managed to beat a bounty hunter," Luke gave a tight smile.
"That was luck. I have been practicing daily."
"Well then I guess you will have to show me," he nodded impressed then gave a small chuckle seeing her try to hide a yawn. "Tomorrow though."
"Good idea," she agreed, running a hand over her face tiredly. "When?"
"Umm, what time do you get up?" he asked.
"About an hour later than I was today," she admitted.
Luke paused, remembering the early time then nodded. "Early, but since when have we ever had a break to sleep in?" he gave a small smile.
"Since…never," Ari answered in similar fashion.
"Well, then you get some rest. And I will come get you tomorrow," he told her and Ari nodded.
"Well…. Good night then," she smiled over at him
"Good night," he pulled her close for a hug again, breathing in deeply, noting that even though things changed, her hair still smelled like flowers.
Finally, he let her go and Ari smiled at him before trotting to her room. She was happy Luke was back, yes. However, she couldn't help but still miss him. They both had changed in some way, and it hurt to think that they weren't as close as they had been before.
Even with these thoughts, Ari was certain that things would work out. Luke had come back, and it would just take time to get into the swing of things, like it had with her.
Quickly changing, Ari slid under the covers with a yawn, turning onto her side, curled up.
"Hey, R4, could you turn out the lights?" Ari asked.
The little droid beeped, sliding over to the control panel for the room and the lights quickly dimmed until they were off.
"Thank you R4. You are great," Ari gave a small smile, patting the droid on the domed head as he made his way back to the power outlet to recharge. In response, R4 gave a whistle.
Ari moved her hand under the pillow, snuggling into it a bit more, eyes closed. "Good night R4," Ari murmured, half asleep already.
The droid beeped in response, which was his way of saying good night. However, the young girl didn't say anything else except to give a tired sigh, letting herself drift into a deep sleep.
The night passed quickly, and for the first time in awhile, the nightmares did not come to haunt her. They were always there, hidden in the dark, just waiting to come after her. To cause her to thrash in her bed, cries on her lips. However, only R4 knew of these. She never planned to tell others. She did wonder if Luke ever had these, but didn't want to bring that up just yet. She planned to wait and see if they would soon go away.
The uneventful night left Ari feeling more awake than normal. When her alarm went off, she was still tired, but got up quickly, dressing in a few warm layers, knowing that the exercise would warm her up, and she would take off a layer or two in the course of it.
It felt a bit strange to not be showering earlier, but she knew she would be doing so after her session with Luke. Her timing was perfect though, as she was pulling her hair back with a few clips, there was a knock.
"Come in," Ari called from where she was fixing her hair.
"Ready?" Luke asked as he stepped in, also dressed in warm clothes, more than even Ari.
"You sure you can move in that?" she laughed, pulling on her belt.
"It is cold," he explained. "More so than anywhere else I have been."
"Well, you will get a bit more used to it," Ari gave a small smile.
"Don't you sound like a native Hoth person," he teased and Ari made a face.
"That would make me a tauntum or wampa. Neither of which I would like," she told him, making certain she had her saber. "You ready? There is a small room that we could use just down the hall."
"Sounds good," Luke nodded, following her out of the room and down the hall. Ari palmed the door open and it opened to reveal a storage room of some sort that was yet to be completed. However, it was larger than either of their rooms, with enough space for sparring. Also, since the room was empty, they didn't have to risk hitting anything, which was something Ari had been very careful about until she had found this room.
"All set?" Luke asked, getting out his saber, igniting it with a snap-hiss.
"I was born ready," Ari answered, igniting her own saber. Blue eyes met blue eyes and they both smiled, and they were both thankful they had learned to turn down the energy of the blade, so neither of them would lose a limb. Then, Luke lunged forward without warning. Ari blocked him quickly, then moved with an attack of her own. Their movements were almost like dance moves, fluid as they moved.
Their session continued for over an hour, though it seemed as if they couldn't tell. Throughout the match, both had been shedding outer layers of clothes, the heat from the movement was surprising, since it was cold even inside the semi heated base.
Finally, Luke held up a hand and deactivated his saber, and Ari did the same.
"I call for a truce. Neither of us are going to win," he gave a smile through his panting. His hair clung to the back of his neck and his forehead due to the perspiration from the extreme work out. His skin was flushed from the mix of cold air, and the warmth from the sparring. Ari looked very much the same, with strands of hair having fallen out of the clips, clinging to her skin. Her cheeks were red from the same mixture of heat and cold that Luke was feeling.
Ari pretended to consider it then nodded. "Truce…though I think next time I will win," she grinned.
"I'll let you believe that," he teased and went to throw an arm around her.
"Nuh uh, I'm taking a shower, as should you," she told him, moving away from his arm, then winked and when he tried it again, she let him. "Though I still am taking a shower," she smiled, resting her head on his shoulder for a second as they came out of the room. When she lifted her head, Luke let his arm fall.
"Well, it would be a good idea," he teased and she made a face back at him. "You know, your face really could freeze that way in this weather," he tried to tell her solemnly, but both of them laughed.
"How about we meet in thirty minutes for lunch?" Ari suggested as they reached her room. "We could meet in the East end of the hanger.
"That sounds good," he nodded. "I'll see you then."
Ari greeted R4, telling the little droid about her sparring session with Luke while she undressed, and slid on a robe while R4 shared some of the new he had gotten. Just that the evening meeting was now at the normal time, and that it looked as if there would be a lot of asteroid activity in the system. Ari frowned, knowing it might confuse the sensor readings, but nodded, thanking R4, who whistled as if to say it wasn't a problem.
Ari turned on the water as hot as she could, stepping in fast. While she knew she could use the sonic shower, which she often did, it felt good to feel the hot water stream hit her shoulders and to have it run through her hair. She shampooed her hair, which was among some of the items that had been supplied to her through unknown means. The shampoo, along with other essentials like soap and towels had just been waiting for her when she had been assigned the room. Ari enjoyed even the slight amount of pampering she could give herself by staying in the shower until the water was too cold to stand.
She got out and dried herself off quickly before changing into the warm clothes she often wore.
After pulling on her snow vest, she rubbed the towel through her hair, trying to dry it. She wanted to use a dryer, but the rooms were not equipped for something like that yet. There was also the fear of using too much heat in an ice cavern.
When her hair was mostly dry, Ari went back into her room with her brush, running it through her blonde hair. It seemed to be getting slightly darker without the constant exposure to the two suns. Sighing, Ari finished, setting the brush on the small bedside table in her room.
"Want to come R4? Time to eat."
The little droid paused, then shook his domed head no as he moved to the door with a few chirps. Ari checked the translator and nodded with a small smile.
"Well, don't work too hard," she teased the droid who answered with a good-natured beep.
Ari made sure she was ready then went to the prearranged meeting place, hoping she wasn't too late. She noted that she was about five minutes late. Luke would understand, but she felt as if she was always running around.
Upon reaching the spot, she glanced around, seeing Luke was not there yet.
There were sounds from others in the cafeteria, and Ari paced a few feet, then turned on her heel to pace back. She kept doing this to keep warm, looking for Luke.
She had been about to give up on him after fifteen minutes had passed. However, just as she turned to go, she heard her name being called. "Ari!"
Ari turned and saw Luke rushing towards her with a few of the other pilots, Dak and Wedge included. "I have the best news to tell you!"
"What is it?" Ari asked, having to smile, seeing his own grin.
"I am now Commander Skywalker," he beamed proudly.
Ari looked at him for a moment in surprise then hugged him. "Congratulations!" she exclaimed. Something in the back of her mind bothered her slightly about this. That after all the work she did, she still low in rank compared to others. However, she pushed these thoughts away. She really was happy for Luke. He did deserve it to.
"Thanks!" he laughed, and a few of the guys hit Luke on the back. At that moment, a few others came over and Ari felt herself pushed aside.
Hurt, she looked over at Luke, but saw that once again, other Rebels wanted to congratulate him. She also noted that, for the moment at least, she was an afterthought.
Sighing, she started for the other side of the hanger, having spotted Han getting some help from R4.
"How's she looking?" Ari asked coming up right behind him, causing Han to jump slightly.
"Alright. Still pretty beat up," he sighed, running his hands over his face, leaving smudge marks before turning to her. "You look down."
"No. Just," she paused and shrugged. "Alone. And bored for the moment."
"Where's Luke?" he asked, wiping his hands off on an already oily rag, taking a break.
Ari motioned with her head over to where Luke and the others were. "He made Commander," she forced a small smile.
"Good for him," Han nodded with the famous Solo grin, then paused, the smile fading. "You aren't happy for him?"
"I am!" Ari insisted quickly correcting him. "I just miss him is all. He is right here, and yet it feels like he is a million light years away."
Han nodded at this going back to work on the ship, sliding under, only his boots showing.
"He's just enjoying the hero status. It'll wear off," Han grumbled, his voice muffled from where he was. "Bet in a few days things will be just like they were."
"Thanks," Ari smiled, and then patted R4's domed head. Han, who should probably be the most confusing of everyone here, seemed to have a lot of sense about him.
As she was crossing back across to see Luke, she heard her name called from behind her, and turned, seeing Cal rushing up to her.
"Hey, I looked for you at breakfast."
"Is it that late?" Ari asked surprised, then raised and eyebrow when Cal showed her his chrono. "I had no idea. I was practicing with Luke and well…" she motioned to the crowd.
"I heard about it. Big promotion for him," Cal remarked with a nod.
"Yeah…" Ari nodded slowly. She was trying to stay upbeat. Luke deserved this and so much more.
Ari was so intent on watching the crowd that it wasn't until she felt Cal's arm around her waist that she glanced back at him.
"You shouldn't be so sad," he told her gently.
"He is my best friend. I missed him, but it looks like things have changed too much," she sighed.
"It will be ok. If you two are as close as you seem to be, things will be back to normal soon," Cal replied, hand now on her arm.
"What if they don't?" Ari asked, attention now on Cal though, and not Luke.
"Everything happens for a reason, Ari. People do change. But he would be a fool to risk his friendship with you." Cal watched her carefully, hoping he wasn't overstepping his boundaries with her.
"Thanks," Ari smiled shyly, cheeks a bit warm from this kind praise.
"You are an amazing girl," Cal told her softly, lifting her chin to meet her shy gaze. At this, Ari felt her breath catch in her throat. She had never had anyone look at her in the way he was looking at her.
"Cal…" she started, feeling herself being drawn closer to him, and felt his hand slid up to the back of her neck gently. Heart pounding, she felt the soft touch of his lips on hers. It made her entire being go warm as she felt herself start to return the kiss. This wasn't her first kiss, but she had to admit, that up to this point, it was the nicest.
Both had their eyes closed, one of Cal's hands still on Ari's neck, the other gently placed on the small of her back. Ari had one hand on his shoulder, the other on his arm as the kiss continued gently.