Title: You Look Tense
Rating: M
He felt her coming down the hall and that she was upset. He opened his door easily for her and she stormed in.
"Jedi Jade," he greeted with a smile and she spun on him, her eyes narrowed.
"You are not allowed to call me that," she ordered at him and he huffed. "If you do, I'll start calling you Jedi Master again," she threatened and he frowned yet it didn't last long. Yesterday Horn had joined the Jedi Order and so had Mara Jade. She had passed her Jedi Trials and was a Jedi Knight, her grasp of the force beautiful and astounding. His feelings of joy at the remembered event were interrupted at her anger she was radiating.
"Why are you upset?" He asked gently closing the door to his rooms.
"How do you know I'm upset?" She questioned taking two steps towards him.
"You mean besides the flames that are coming out of your head?" He sputtered amused and she narrowed her eyes at him. Then she took in a deep breath and completely calmed her features before him. A burst of pride hit him at her mastery of the force.
"Stop it," she breathed gently and he blinked.
"Stop what?" he muttered and she pointed a finger at him, the others holding onto a datapad.
"Stop being so kriffin proud of me, you are not my father," she said calmly and he furrowed his brow annoyed at her.
"I feel great pride in all of my Jedi," he began and she put a hand on her hip.
"Not yours," she reminded and he continued as if he hadn't heard her.
"It is not easy to be a Jedi. Your trials last week were amazing, you've almost broken all the records we have here. I'm damn proud of you Jade," he said strongly and she pressed her lips together tolerantly at him. "What are you holding back?" he questioned and she pointed at him.
"That," she hissed and he blinked. "Don't act innocent, you know exactly why I am here because you can feel it from me," she accused and he just continued to study her without expression.
"I'm not sure what you want me to tell you," Luke said gently as he took a seat on his couch arm before her.
"Is it common?" She questioned walking closer to him and he shook his head.
"No," he replied easily and she let out a breath.
"Do other Jedi have this?" She demanded and he shrugged a shoulder.
"Maybe Kam and Tionne," he muttered and her face fell as she looked at him with anger.
"Is this a kriffen Jedi Mating bond?!" She almost screamed at him and Luke just looked at her patiently.
"You should try sleeping with another Jedi and find out," Luke replied dryly and she almost hit him. She took in a deep breath getting control and he smiled proud of her. She smacked his arm that time.
"Stop it!" She growled and he grinned pulling her into his arms.
"I will never stop being proud of you," he hissed, a bright smile on his lips and in his eyes. It made her melt a bit. "You are my best friend Jade," he confessed, gently cupping her cheek and she gave him a tiny smile. "And I know I am yours," he smirked and she groaned pulling away from him.
"There isn't any info on this," she ground out, going back to their original conversation and he shook his head.
"Nope," he muttered and she hissed tossing the datapad onto his desk as she walked away from him. "Callista told me a little about it. That it is very rare. Only a few were ever recorded in Jedi History but not much info. Guess it went against the 'There is no Passion'," Luke muttered dryly and Mara stilled looking at him.
"Why would you and Callista talk about it?" She questioned with a raised eyebrow and she felt a crack in his calm as his defenses rose. His posture and body language betrayed nothing but now she could see it through the force. He was hiding something from her.
"I picked her brain on many Jedi topics. She had a lifetime of Jedi knowledge," he replied evenly and her eyes narrowed at him.
"You nerfherder. Tell me the truth or I'll figure out how to find it," she threatened and he stood, his eyes narrowed at her.
"I can shut you out easily Jade. Do not forget who I am," he muttered and she sucked in a deep breath, her heart beating wildly.
"You would deny me something farmboy?" She asked, her voice dipping and he felt his heart tug. Sith she was good. He felt her retreat a bit from him and just waited. He let out a breath, allowing her to comfort him and remind him she would never take anything from him against his will. They were friends. She would always be his friend.
"The only other thing she said was that it can only happen once," he sighed and turned away from her. Mara let that info settle on her.
"Can other Jedi feel it?" She questioned quietly and he shrugged.
"I imagine if they knew what they were looking for. I've shielded ours pretty well though," he said with a gentle shrug.
"Could you shield it from me?" She questioned but he didn't have to answer. She already knew. "How long have we had it?" She questioned and Luke pressed his lips together, his eyes lazily glancing up at her. She turned away from him as that info flooded to her. Years. It had to have been years… She didn't want to dwell on that perhaps Callista even was the one who told him about it because she realized they had it. She didn't want to dwell on any of this… Could they not just be normal friends? She felt him sooth that they were friends and this meant nothing.
"I feel you inside my head," Mara breathed and Luke gently pulled away from her through their 'bond' and she groaned quickly turning to him. "It hurts when you retreat!" She growled tossing a pillow at him that he easily caught. "What if you marry hotshot?" Her voice was angry at him, full of reproach, as she walked towards him. "She will not be ok with me in your head!"
"Didn't think people were lining up to marry the stuffy Jedi Master," he mused and she grunted.
"This is just because we are friends who sometimes… you know…" Mara muttered a bit uncomfortably and he nodded.
"Ok," he appeased and she frowned at him.
"I'm not staying here Luke. My destiny is not on this jungle planet," she informed him and even though he knew that it still hurt a bit in his heart. She frowned at him sadly. He stood, putting the pillow back on his couch.
"Mara, I know. I'm excited for you to go back to Karrde's organization," he admitted and she let out a breath. "You know that's true," he admonished her and she nodded.
"I worry about you," she confessed and he grinned.
"You've always worried about me," he reminded her and she nodded then grabbed onto his chin stepping closer to him.
"But now I can see into your mind and I have real cause for worry!" Her voice rose, panic in her eyes and he gathered her into his arms tightly. He soothed her through their bond, trying to erase her worry from her and she shook her head.
"This matter needs research. I don't believe anything that body snatcher says. Maybe I should interact with other Jedi," she said with distraction as she tried to turn this over in her head. He raised an eyebrow at her.
"Just don't give me a detailed report," he muttered and she narrowed her eyes at him.
"Why don't you do research for it! You go sleep with another Jedi," she growled and he let her go.
"Unethical in so many ways," he hissed moving away from her and she narrowed her eyes at him. She moved to blast him that he had with her but he quickly shot her down in her mind that he had never once touched her when she was his student. She cursed in her mind and he winced.
"We just had a whole conversation in our mind!" She yelled at him and Luke let out a breath. "What if you can call me across a galaxy?" She suddenly questioned and he looked at her quickly.
"I'm not him," Luke snapped.
"No, because you actually care about me and he never did," Mara sneered angrily and Luke looked away from her. "I'm not good for you… you know that," Mara breathed gently and he shot her a look.
"Is there anything else?" He questioned and she knew he was ready for her to leave and for this conversation to be over.
"Yes," Mara breathed catching his eyes. "I'm fricken tense," she hissed and Luke let out a breath.
"Can't have that," he breathed. "Friends don't let friends be tense," he mused and Mara smirked a bit at him.
"We need to make more friends Skywalker," she breathed, her feet closing the gap between them almost against her wishes.
"You've kind of ruined me for other friends," he confessed and she nodded once. He yanked her into his arms, his lips overtaking hers with a familiarity and possession that seemed to burn into her soul. He felt her struggle with her emotions through their bond then suddenly the struggle was gone and all he could feel from her was what she was feeling as his hands roamed her possessively. He bit back his disappointment and plowed forward, their hands tugging and lips claiming as all each other felt through their bond was sensations… each real emotion locked up tightly never allowed to see the light of day.