Timeframe: after the Dark Nest Trilogy
Mara Jade Skywalker heard the bedroom door open and waited for the inevitable. Even without using the Force, she knew who had entered.
"Does Mom not feel good?" She hears her eleven-year-old son ask, who must have followed Luke into the room.
"Mom had too much fun with your aunt and Mirax last night and apparently forgot she was the Jedi Master on kitchen duty this week," Luke says. "Right, Mara?"
Had Ben not been there, Mara would have told Luke what she thought about his explanation of her current situation. In fairness, Luke couldn't exactly tell the boy why, since it was Jedi Council business. The word business, was maybe stretching the matter, but it was not something they wanted non council members to know. She buries her head a bit further into her pillow, and for good measure, grabs Luke's and puts his over her head.
"So why did she drink too much if she had kitchen duty?" Ben asks.
Any other day, Mara would have been proud of her son's ability to reason out and ask the correct questions. Not this morning when her head felt like it was being stomped on by a bantha. "You fill in for me," she orders Luke.
She hears Luke sigh. "That's not how this works."
Unburying herself and rolling onto her back, Mara props herself up via her elbows and gives Ben an encouraging smile. "Did you get your homework done?" She asks. Mara is very grateful her husband had not turned the lights on upon entering.
Ben nods. "Last night!" He declares proudly.
"Great job. How about you go make yourself some hot chocolate? Mom and Dad need to have an adult conversation." She didn't have to say more than hot chocolate for Ben to enthusiastically rush out of the bedroom.
Luke closes the door behind Ben, then turns back to face Mara just in time to witness her bury herself with the pillows again. "Mara," he begins sternly, "you lost fair and square."
"It wasn't fair! Kam threw the spar against Tionne." The entire council knew that was the only way Tionne had not lost the council's sparring tournament again. Tionne was a brilliant scholar and excellent with the young students, but her Force and combat skills were not on par compared to her fellow council masters.
"Doesn't change anything. Loser does kitchen duty. We all agreed that was the stakes when we started doing this tournament."
"I haven't seen you do kitchen duty, Grand Master," Mara spat.
"I haven't lost." Unfortunately, that was true. Luke had yet to not finish in the top three. Her husband was the first person in actual combat to spare an enemy's life. However, when it came to sparring or flight simulators, Luke's competitive side came out something fierce. There was a reason the top X-wing simulator scores rotated between Luke, Wedge Antilles, and Jaina Solo and had for years. Based on the fact Wedge couldn't use the Force, Mara thought it should just be agreed that he was the best starfighter pilot the Galactic Alliance had, retired or not.
"You rig the brackets."
"Kyle makes the brackets." His voice has begun to take on an annoyed tone.
"He shouldn't pair husbands and wives." There were only two married couples on the council; the Skywalkers and Solusars. But with only twelve masters on the council it would be nearly impossible for the bracket to never have husband and wife spar.
"Fine. Next time we're paired together, I'll throw the fight."
Forgetting about her splitting headache, Mara bolts upright. "Don't you dare, Skywalker!"
Luke folds his arms across his chest; if he'd been dressed in Jedi robes, his expression would have read eerily similar to the one he'd give to out-of-line padawans. If Mara wasn't careful, she'd probably wind up earning actual kitchen duty for next week. That would give the order something to talk about, and Mara knew how much the padawans loved to gossip.
Resigned, Mara gingerly eases herself out of bed. She'd have to tell Mirax that a hangover was not enough to get a Jedi Master out of kitchen duty. That way the other woman could warn Corran, when it came to the Jedi Council's sparring competition, if he and Mara ever ended up in the bottom bracket again, their status offered them no reprieve. Though if that happened, Mara intended to win next time.
A glance at the chrono told Mara it wasn't even 5:30 in the morning yet. "Some days I miss smuggling." Blasted, farmboy and his early morning internal clock.
Out of the corner of her eye, she notices Luke smile; he knew she really didn't. All those years she had resisted becoming a Jedi, though desperately needed, felt wasted. It was so clear to her now; the Jedi was where she belonged. As she headed to the refresher, she muttered a few more choice phrases in Huttese for Luke's benefit. Unlike her husband, the only words Mara knew in Huttese were the bad words. If knowing swear words counted as being fluent in a language, Mara would know well over a dozen languages; she blamed her time with Karrde for that.
"I'm glad Ben wasn't here to hear that." Luke calls after her.
"Thankfully, our son doesn't understand Huttese," she responds back, before closing the door behind her.
"Would you like caf?"
"That would be wonderful." In the Force, she makes sure to let him know how much she loves him and feels him return the sentiment.