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Author	Topic: Mara the Burninator (L/M vignette; humor - yet another in the Temperature series - Cover Art added)
obaona Registered: Jun '02	Date Posted: 11/2/03 12:18pm Subject: Mara the Burninator (L/M vignette; humor - yet another in the Temperature series - Cover Art added) - Date Edited: 1/6/04 6:48pm (12 edits total) Edited By: obaona
	Thanks for clicking! Yep, it's up at last. However, let me take this opportunity to say it's Nov. 2 and as such, TAKE AWAY THE HALLOWEEN BANNER ALREADY!!! I want the old one back. I wanted to have it back for when I posted this. Also, the preview button isn't working AT ALL, WHATSOEVER, so tell me if you find any mistakes that I'll no doubt miss. Title: Mara the Burninator (thanks and blame go to LianaMara, who offered it as a joke which my imagination did not take as a joke.) Summary: Um . . . oh forget it. A/N (this is actually important ): This is set after Kindling the Flame, so currently it is chronologically the last in the series. See chronological listing for details. HUGE thanks to Jedi-2B for beta'ing. Chronological Listing and Links of the Series: I am putting this here due to the fact that readers have posted on different stories with ‘what’s this about a sequel?’. Here are all the stories (including this one) in chronological order (not the order they were written): Cold Front, Breaking the Ice, The Blanket Incident, It Was Cold, If You Can’t Stand the Heat, Warming Up, It Got Too Hot, Kindling the Flame, Mara the Burninator, It’s Not the Heat, It’s the Humidity, and Heat Wave. Cover Art huggies to all my fantastic readers! And I'll be needing a new title after this one, I think. ~~~~ “Hey,” Luke said, ducking into Leia and Han’s apartment, “you’re the one who first mentioned having children.” Any reply I could have given would have been lost in Luke’s hurry to get out of reach from my wrath, so I restrained myself with an effort and followed him inside. Luke had, for some Force-forsaken reason, decided to visit Leia and Han. Well, more accurately, visit them and the kids. He told me the kids had been asking to see Luke and his wife (which would be me, of course), and naturally he said we would without asking me first. Luke and I had been married for about a year, but I had resisted having anything to do with Leia’s children. The fact that when Luke and I visited, they were always gone for some reason – luck or the Force – also had something to do with it. I came in right behind Skywalker. The apartment looked about the same as the last time I was there, a few months before – smooth elegant architectural lines, not many spots that could hide potential attackers, and plush but mutely colored furniture. Leia and Han were not in sight. “Where are they?” I asked Luke, stepping so I was standing beside him. Luke looked at me expectantly. “Oh, right,” I said, rolling my eyes and stretching out with the Force. Luke never failed to take an opportunity to teach. He had been training me since we married. I felt, though, that at that point we were also finally learning Jedi skills from each other. Luke was open to my ideas, knowing that he himself was no true expert – not that there was anyone left alive who was. I could feel five presences in the apartment – all in the same general area. Three of them were . . . excited. I blinked when they suddenly came closer, and focused on my more immediate surroundings. “Uncle Luke!” came multiple cries of joy. Luke knelt, grinning, and hugged his niece and nephews. Jaina and Jacen hugged him first, both at the same time, their little brown heads contrasting against Luke’s blond hair. Anakin, the youngest, got to embrace his uncle last, and he did so with great fervor. I stayed back nervously, resisting the urge to fidget. Han and Leia followed their kids almost immediately, and watched with amusement as their children greeted their uncle enthusiastically. Leia, I noted almost immediately, was wearing a version of her Senatorial gown – it was a pale green dress loosely gathered at her waist with a low neck. Han wasn’t so formally attired, but I still sensed that something was off. “Mara, welcome,” Leia said, coming over to greet me. Han followed her, and gave me a casual hand wave. “Hi,” I said, attempting to smile. I had gotten to know Leia a great deal better when preparing for the wedding, but I still didn’t feel entirely comfortable with her, and wasn’t quite sure what she thought of Luke and me. Luke had told me it would take time. “Listen,” Leia began, “I’m really sorry about this, but an emergency came up with the Senate. Could you and Luke watch the kids for a few hours?” Her brown eyes were worried, attentive. “I get to be backup,” Han added, grinning. I narrowed my eyes at him, sure he was aware of my discomfort with children. He shrugged. “Politically speaking, of course.” He brushed away an imaginary speck of lint. I glanced at Luke, who looked back at me calmly with no hints of how to reply on his face. “Of course, we’d love to,” I said, smiling. The worry in Leia’s brown eyes abruptly melted away. “Thank you. I’d ask Winter, but it came up really suddenly . . .” She looked at the children. “Be good,” she said sternly, but with a warm smile. And with that, she and Han – who had surprisingly and oddly spoken little more than a few words – left. As soon as the door shut – with an almost dooming note, I thought – Jaina grabbed Luke’s hand and said, “Uncle Luke, can I show you something? It’s a secret!” “May I,” Luke corrected calmly. “And yes, what is it?” Jaina grinned with uneven teeth, at her young age quite clearly possessing a lot of energy. Jacen nodded excitedly behind her. Luke looked at them with amusement, and then looked at me, mouthing silently, Be right back.* I nodded, and Luke let Jaina and Jacen succeed in dragging him to one of the back rooms, a small amused smile on his face all the while. I noted absently he seemed good with kids. I looked down when I felt someone tug on my leg. Anakin was staring up at me from beneath a mop of brown hair, and disturbing blue eyes. “Yes?” I said formally. “Are you my Aunt Mara?” Anakin asked, eyes wide and his little mouth a flat line. “Well, yes,” I said, nodding, feeling odd looking down at someone so much shorter. I knew him, of course, having seen him when he was too young to remember, along with Luke’s holos of him as he grew older. Luke had been trying to get me to go on family gatherings before the two of us even were involved, and I wondered briefly if he was courting me even then . . . His lower lip trembled, and strangely, his grip on the fabric of my pants tightened. “Are you going to burn me?” “What?” I said, surprised. “No! Of course not.” What in the Force . . . ? Feeling awkward, confused, and cursing Luke for leaving me alone in such a new situation for me, I finally knelt, bringing the young boy more at eye level with me. Anakin would probably feel less intimidated. I was pretty sure, anyway. He sniffed and rubbed his nose. “But Jaina and Jacen said you were the Burninator.” I raised my eyebrow. “Oh, did they? And what is a Burninator?” He shrugged one small shoulder. “They said it’s a scary person. And that even though you’re all good now, you’re still scary and I should be scared,” he said in a rush, making me blink in confusion. Ah! I thought, the realization hitting quite suddenly after a moment of further puzzlement. I had never experienced this, but I knew what it was – the older siblings teasing the younger. Though I wondered where Jaina and Jacen got the bright idea that I was scary. They weren’t born when I was really scary, after all . . . “Well, I’m not,” I said at last, knowing I should try to reassure the boy. “I’m a good person. Do you think your uncle would marry someone scary?” Anakin brightened. “No,” he agreed. “Well, then,” I said, grinning. “So you’re not Mara the Burninator?” Anakin asked, seeking confirmation. “Absolutely not,” I affirmed. Anakin sniffed one more time, the fear fading from his eyes, then threw himself at me, his arms held out. My arms came up to hold him, as if it were perfectly natural, and I thought maybe I did have some distant, dormant mothering instinct. His small body felt so warm and real, it was startling. I was holding a little sentient being. A boy. I have no experience with children, myself included, I thought. “Jaina and Jacen are mean,” Anakin proclaimed, just after letting his firm grip on me loosen. I nodded, with a little shrug. “Well, sometimes older siblings do that.” His eyes were wide. “A lot?” “Well . . .” I really had no idea. “Don’t worry about it,” I said, ruffling his hair, as I had seen Luke do to Jacen. He grinned at me, showing a gap in his teeth. I paused, wondering. “Hey . . . Why the Burninator?” I asked, curiosity getting hold of me. Anakin shrugged. “They said they heard that you would burn Uncle Luke real bad.” He scrunched up his face. I had to repress a wince at the simple words that expressed years of public opinion. “Mom said it was meta-meta . . . said it wasn’t true, but . . .” He looked confused. “And bad guys always have nator at the end of their names,” he said wisely. “She was right – it’s not true,” I said, letting the later confusing comment go. Maybe something to do with holoshows? “And it was mean of your brother and sister to lie like that.” I paused, thinking of how scared Anakin had been, and what Jacen and Jaina must have been thinking to say such a thing to the boy. What do children do to other children that tease them? “What do you say we get a little revenge?” I asked lightly, smiling, a plan quickly blossoming in my mind. Anakin thought seriously, getting a look on his face very similar to one that Luke got quite often. I had a sudden absurd image of Vader getting the same look on his face, and had to repress it. “Uncle Luke says revenge is of the dark side,” he managed at last. I waved my hand breezily in dismissal. “Not this kind, trust me.” I grinned at him, and he slowly grinned back. I sat on the floor, and told him of my plan – and the little part he would play. And as I explained it to him, and he listened with intensity, I realized how much I was enjoying myself – enjoying talking to Anakin, and I felt a sudden rush of affection. The way he looked, the way he talked and acted – I could see shades of his parents in him, and something uniquely his own, in those bright blue eyes. It made me wonder what a child of mine and Luke’s would be like. When Luke returned a few minutes later with his niece and nephew, both Anakin and I were sitting on the couch, calmly talking about his latest attempt to hotwire a house-cleaning droid. Luke gave me an inquiring look, and I knew he sensed something was up, but he didn’t say anything. Jaina and Jacen continued on obliviously, jumping on the couch after I vacated it, and talking to Anakin about how they showed Uncle Luke their ‘secret’, which turned out to be a snake of some kind Jacen had convinced to enter the apartment. As I passed Luke to get to the kitchen, I winked. He raised his eyebrow, and his eyes followed me, but instead of following me himself, he leaned up against the wall, watching the children chatter with half his attention. It took me only a moment to find what I needed. I knew Leia would have it, even if she didn’t use it – it was a cooking tool, and one rarely used because there were easier, if less dramatic, ways of doing what it was used for. It didn’t take me long to find the jar of hot powder, either. I could feel Luke’s eyes on my back when I walked into the back of the apartment, where the bedrooms were. I took the powder, and carefully placed a small amount on the panel that would open the door to Han and Leia’s bedroom. It would only sting lightly, but in the heat of the moment . . . well, that was another matter. Then I put it back where it belonged in the kitchen, giving Anakin a small wink as I passed through the living room, my other tool hidden by my body and my hand. Luke’s intense curiosity was almost palpable to me, and it increased even further when I left the kitchen and walked up to the kids, frowning and trying to look as blatantly scary as possible. Anakin sniffled at me, and said, “Mara the Burninator!” And screeched, just like I told him to. “That’s right,” I claimed, and raised my tool. It was a culinary device, a small torch used to set fire to certain food items before eating – a delicacy. It was very small, small enough it could almost be held in the palm of my hand. I activated it, and a small flame spurt out. Jaina and Jacen shrieked in terror, heightened by Anakin’s faked terror, and jumped off of the couch, running. Not to Luke, as I had suspected they wouldn’t, but instinctively to their parents – except they weren’t home, so naturally they would run into the bedroom. Anakin stayed put as his older siblings, certain that the stories they had told were actually true – no doubt a scary prospect for a child – ran for what seemed the safest place to be. I watched in satisfaction as they ran down the hall into the back, no doubt putting their little mischievous hands on the door panel to their parents’ bedroom . . . Another shriek. “Mara!” Luke said, having reached my side in the few moments chaos had erupted, and curiously taking the small torch out of my hand. “What is going on?” Anakin giggled. “We got them good!” he said, and slipped off the couch, coming over to me. “So we did,” I said wisely, and held out my hand. Anakin solemnly shook it. “Mara . . .” Luke said, looking at me with wide eyes. I patted his arm. “I’ll explain later,” I said. “You better go and calm the twins down before they start rubbing that hot spice into their eyes. I didn’t put much on the door panel, but you never know . . .” I shrugged, deciding to give Luke some idea of what had happened, while leaving the details for later. “I burn people, according to the twins and their tales to young Anakin here. Seemed appropriate.” Giving me an astonished half-laugh, Luke shook his head and went down the hall, calling Jaina and Jacen’s names in a soothing manner, and sending chastising thoughts at me all the while. Anakin and I exchanged another grin. Mara the Burninator, indeed. [fin] -----signature----- MS Word is designed by sadists with masochists in mind. - teh atty my recent Atton (KOTOR2) fic: http://boards.theforce.net/before_the_saga/b10475/30335989
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Dev_Binks Registered: Aug '03	Date Posted: 11/2/03 12:26pm Subject: RE: Mara the Burninator (L/M vignette; yet another in the Temperature series)
	Ahh that's the last one? It was funny, there need to be more humorous fics on these boards. Like this one. -----signature----- "There will be pages. Lots and lots of pages. Most of them will have letters on them, and the vast majority of those letters will be in the roman alphabet." -Aaron Allston
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obaona Registered: Jun '02	Date Posted: 11/2/03 12:41pm Subject: RE: Mara the Burninator (L/M vignette; yet another in the Temperature series)
	Dev_Binks: Oh, I doubt it's the last. I just need another title. And thank you. -----signature----- MS Word is designed by sadists with masochists in mind. - teh atty my recent Atton (KOTOR2) fic: http://boards.theforce.net/before_the_saga/b10475/30335989
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Dancing_Jansons Registered: Oct '02	Date Posted: 11/2/03 12:48pm Subject: RE: Mara the Burninator (L/M vignette; yet another in the Temperature series) - Date Edited: 11/2/03 12:49pm (1 edits total) Edited By: Dancing_Jansons
	Aww, this is awesome! I'm cracking up! It took a lot of guts for Anakin to stand there and ask Mara if she was scary after all the stories he'd been told! He's so the best Solo kid! I noted absently he seemed good with kids. nods I bet he would be. I was holding a little sentient being. A boy. I have no experience with children, myself included, I thought. Poor Mara. What a great way for her (and Anakin) to get revenge on the twins, though. Anakin got her to let her inner child take a walk. Great stuff, Oba! I'll have to think about more titles.
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Jaina_and_Jag Registered: Apr '03	Date Posted: 11/2/03 12:52pm Subject: RE: Mara the Burninator (L/M vignette; yet another in the Temperature series)
	That was great!!!!! Mara the Burninator! Little kids are great! J&J
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NarundiJedi Title: FF Chapter Rep Albany, NY Registered: Oct '01	Date Posted: 11/2/03 1:07pm Subject: RE: Mara the Burninator (L/M vignette; yet another in the Temperature series)
	Bwah ahahahaha!!! I'm so glad I decided to take a break from lab report writing to witness this! My day has improved infinitely thanks to you, Oba! Now, if you could only send Mara the Burninator after my lazy lab partners so they'd do some of the writing for once and give me a break. Jae Angel -----signature----- Kill Brodey: Vol 1 - http://boards.theforce.net/message.asp?topic=17015774&replies=0 Helané, Handmaiden of the Crest Leli's Blonde Twin! I'm now Mrs. NJ! w00t!
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Gabri_Jade Title: Fan Fiction Archive Editor Emeritus Registered: Nov '02	Date Posted: 11/2/03 2:01pm Subject: RE: Mara the Burninator (L/M vignette; yet another in the Temperature series)
	Ah ha! There it is! “May I,” Luke corrected calmly. “And yes, what is it?” It's small, but I really like this part. It just seems so like Luke. Luke had been trying to get me to go on family gatherings before the two of us even were involved, and I wondered briefly if he was courting me even then . . . Aw! I like Luke/Mara almost mush. Though I wondered where Jaina and Jacen got the bright idea that I was scary. They weren’t born when I was really scary, after all . . . giggles I wonder too, come to think of it. Anakin thought seriously, getting a look on his face very similar to one that Luke got quite often. I had a sudden absurd image of Vader getting the same look on his face, and had to repress it. LOL! Seriously. I just got the same image. Anakin giggled. “We got them good!” he said, and slipped off the couch, coming over to me. “So we did,” I said wisely, and held out my hand. Anakin solemnly shook it. nods sagely They did indeed. bounces happily Lovely job, oba! Now I just have to try to think of titles... ponders -----signature----- Evil Twin of LadyPadme This concept of "wuv" confuses and infuriates us! - Futurama All I can do is be me. Whoever that is. - Bob Dylan Serendipity (Leia-Mara vig) - http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/30178069 !!11!1eleventy
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obaona Registered: Jun '02	Date Posted: 11/2/03 5:56pm Subject: RE: Mara the Burninator (L/M vignette; yet another in the Temperature series)
	Dancing_Jansons: Good! You're supposed to be cracking up! And aye, Anakin has guts. He's a tough little guy. It was a good experience for both of them, I agree - Mara gets to have fun, and Anakin gets his revenge. And thank you! Jaina_and_Jag: Thank you! I actually don't have much experience with little kids myself, so I sympathize more with Mara . . . NarundiJedi: thwacks lab report Oh well. You still read and replied to this. You're very welcome, and thanks for reading. Gabri_Jade: Day late, but it came. Yes, Luke the fuddy-duddy goodie-two-shoes. And honey, I hate to break this to you pats, but you like L/M, period. Jaina and Jacen got that idea from the 'public opinion', and their own wicked imaginations. Thank you! -----signature----- MS Word is designed by sadists with masochists in mind. - teh atty my recent Atton (KOTOR2) fic: http://boards.theforce.net/before_the_saga/b10475/30335989
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Gabri_Jade Title: Fan Fiction Archive Editor Emeritus Registered: Nov '02	Date Posted: 11/2/03 6:09pm Subject: RE: Mara the Burninator (L/M vignette; yet another in the Temperature series)
	And honey, I hate to break this to you pats, but you like L/M, period. giggles You think? -----signature----- Evil Twin of LadyPadme This concept of "wuv" confuses and infuriates us! - Futurama All I can do is be me. Whoever that is. - Bob Dylan Serendipity (Leia-Mara vig) - http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/30178069 !!11!1eleventy
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JainaDurron Registered: Aug '02	Date Posted: 11/2/03 6:48pm Subject: RE: Mara the Burninator (L/M vignette; yet another in the Temperature series)
	This was yet another great ficlet. ~~Jilly -----signature----- Qeryné, Handmaiden of the Crest Beta for Midnight_Jedi and Amidala_Skywalker Proud K/Jer (Rogue and Goddess); Twin Suns Lead- KDFC Winner for Best Romance Beyond the Saga, SFFA K/J is love!!!
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obaona Registered: Jun '02	Date Posted: 11/2/03 10:05pm Subject: RE: Mara the Burninator (L/M vignette; yet another in the Temperature series)
	Gabri: Well . . . JainaDurron: Thank you. -----signature----- MS Word is designed by sadists with masochists in mind. - teh atty my recent Atton (KOTOR2) fic: http://boards.theforce.net/before_the_saga/b10475/30335989
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Jaina_Solo_Durron Registered: Jul '02	Date Posted: 11/3/03 12:54am Subject: RE: Mara the Burninator (L/M vignette; yet another in the Temperature series)
	classic. -JSD -----signature----- Be nice to me, I might be your doctor someday.
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Ariapaige Registered: Feb '02	Date Posted: 11/3/03 2:51am Subject: RE: Mara the Burninator (L/M vignette; yet another in the Temperature series)
	heehee! this is great! Mara the Burninator indeed. Mara was so cute with Anakin too. Paige -----signature----- sometime lurker
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Master_Jacen Title: JCC Pollster Registered: Jun '03	Date Posted: 11/3/03 6:29am Subject: RE: Mara the Burninator (L/M vignette; yet another in the Temperature series)
	Burninating the country side! Burninating all the peoples! Trogdor! Cool. -----signature----- Space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence. http://admiralsnips.blogspot.com/
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Rivad_Bacar Registered: Nov '02	Date Posted: 11/3/03 8:02am Subject: RE: Mara the Burninator (L/M vignette; yet another in the Temperature series)
	Snicker! That was too funny! Playing with kids is one of the great parts of being an Uncle! (Or an Aunt...) -----signature----- " Fear God and dread naught"- Admiral Sir Bruce Fraiser, First Sea Lord, His Majesty's Navy Circa 1912 Recently married and on cloud twentyseven! Rivad_Bacar: X-wing pilot and diehard romantic.
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Jedi-2B Registered: Nov '00	Date Posted: 11/3/03 8:05am Subject: RE: Mara the Burninator (L/M vignette; yet another in the Temperature series)
	Ah, I've been waiting for this. Loved the little changes and additions you put in, like Mara wondering if Luke wasn't courting her even before they were together. I'm terrible with titles, but will see if I can think of anything. -----signature----- It was on her fifteenth day in the darkness of the Nirauan cave when Mara Jade awoke to discover a rescuer had finally arrived. It was not, however, any of the potential rescuers she would have expected. It was Luke. ~~And the rest is history~~
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