Beyond - Legends "My True Love Gave to Me" (L/M holiday challenge) Day 12

Nice way to include The Jedi Path! I own that book, but I always forget about it. It's really cool, especially the writing in the margins. Luke's notes are always my favorite, of course.

 

The last two days are my favourite so far. So meaningful and uniting. It's beyond any words, really. I adore it.

 

YOU WIN THE META PRIZE FOR THIS SO HARD.

 

Mara is a gem of the first water That gift, especially the sixth book - marvelous! And the reminiscences about Beru- very touching.

 

Another update!!!!!! I feel so spoiled. This is wonderful. I love the reminiscence of Aunt Beru and the gifts are perfect, especially the Jedi Path.

 

Awww! Those were great gifts!

 

Amazing gifts. The gift of memories. With all these incredibly meaningful gifts, I can't imagine what they are going to do next year.

 

“Aunt Beru taught me to read with a book like this,” he said softly. It wasn’t the same book, of course, but perhaps a much later edition of a similar tome. “We had a worn datapad, but that was what Uncle Owen used for the farm. Beru’s book was old, passed down through generations of the Whitesun family. When I was little she would read it to me every night, and when she’d taught me my letters we read it together. She was always so patient with me, helping me sound out words I didn’t know and never chiding me when I stumbled.”

“You miss her,” Mara observed, and Luke swallowed heavily and nodded.

“She taught me what sacrifice was,” he said wistfully. “She was the most selfless person I’ve ever known - she took in a child that was not her own but gave him the name of his father, perhaps knowing that one day that would be important to him. Yet she never treated him as anything but her son, even though raising him meant she had to work twice as hard just to get by, all the while suspecting that one day he would leave her.”

Now I need handkerchiefs, very badly! This went very deep. Now I miss Beru, too.

 

I'm just going to dump this here too, because it's a JadeLotus-Feels-kind-of-morning:

 

Day 5:

Hahhahahaha! Sounds like my kind of party

Day 6: awwwww! I love the reference to Beru and the Jedi path!

 

I only got to read a copy recently, but it's such a good resource, and yes, Luke's comments give me life! There is one in particular where he denounces the no-attachment rule and says he couldn't imagine his life without Mara, Leia and Han, and that sends my heart a-flutter

Thank you!

I love Beru, and think her influence on Luke is often underestimated.

How could I resist?

I am such a Beru fangirl, LOL. But seriously, Luke's as much her son as he is Padme's.

Thanks!

After all of these gifts, they may have to take a break next year!

I really wish there had been more profic about Beru - I desperately want a movie/book/whatever set in the new canon with young Luke being raised by the Lars'.

Thanks!

 

____________________________________________________________________



7


“So what's today’s gift, Skywalker?” Mara asked as she slipped into the corner booth of the Sanvia Slammer, a popular bar in Coruscant’s entertainment district. “Seven drunken barflies?"

Luke laughed and took a seat opposite her in the booth. "You'll see."

He'd no sooner spoken when a Twi’lek waitress approached holding a large tray filled with shot glasses. “Your order, Master Skywalker,” she said sweetly, and began to unload the drinks onto the table into two rows between Luke and Mara. Then she put down a salt shaker and a bowl of lime wedges.

“Thank you,” Luke said when she’d finished, and the Twi’lek flashed him a brilliant smile before flouncing away. Mara watched her retreating form with distaste and shook her head before turning back to her husband.

Luke was grinning at her. “I have to say Mara, I kind it rather gratifying when you get jealous.”

Mara scowled at him. “I’m not jealous.” She turned her attention to the row of seven shot glasses lined up on the table in front of her. They were filled with a shimmering amber liquid, and Mara picked up the first glass to sniff it experimentally. “Starshine?”

“Think you can handle it, Jade?”

“Ha,” she laughed derisively. “I can drink you under the table any day of the week, Skywalker.” Then she threw back the first shot, the bitter taste of the alcohol burning its way down her throat. She shook her head in response to the involuntary shiver.

“Straight, huh?” Luke grinned at her. “Very brave.” He picked up his own glass and drank it in the same way, slamming the empty back down on the table rim first.

“It’s good stuff,” Mara said approvingly as she took a lime wedge and sprinkled it generously with the salt. Then she put the wedge into her mouth and sucked the salty citrus flesh, chasing it with another shot of starshine. This time the alcohol danced pleasantly on her tongue, the bitterness counteracted by the salty and sour flavours of the lime.

“Interesting,” Luke told her, then proceeded to lick the inside of his wrist and sprinkle it liberally with salt. Mara leaned back in her chair and laughed as he licked the salt off his skin and threw back a shot of starshine. Then he bit into a lime wedge and gave her a grin from beneath the rind.

“That’s soft, Skywalker,” she scolded him. “You have to let yourself enjoy the flavour, not mask it.”

Luke took the lime wedge from his mouth and deposited it on the table. “We’ll see who’s soft by the end of the night, Mara.”

“I guess we will,” she smiled, sure that she would end the night the victor. “So why starshine?” she asked, running the tip of her forefinger around the rim of the third shot, knowing she needed to pace herself.

Luke shrugged. “It’s something different,” he replied. “We used to drink it at the Tosche Station bar on special occasions.”

“Ah, I forgot they made it on Tatooine.”

“Where do you think the name Tatooine Sunburn came from?” he said, referring to the popular cocktail made with blumfruit juice and frill syrup.

Mara shrugged and conceded the point. “So what constituted a special occasion on Tatooine?” she asked wryly. “Special delivery of power converters?”

“Ha, ha.” Luke smile faded somewhat, and he drank from his third shot. Mara noticed that this time he did not throw it back or chase it with the lime, but rather drank steadily, as if he welcomed the slow burn in his mouth. “We drank it to celebrate Biggs leaving for the Academy.”

Mara took a lime wedge and sucked on it thoughtfully for a few moments before taking her own shot, the liquid pleasantly bitter. “He didn’t die because of you, Luke,” she told him softly, sensing that was where is thoughts were dwelling.

“He was protecting me, though,” Luke countered. “He knew I had the best chance of making the shot, and so he was covering me - even though I was the newest pilot in the squadron.”

“He had faith in you,” Mara said. “It was well-founded.”

“My father killed him, did you know that?” he asked, lifting his gaze to hers. Mara shook her head slowly. “After Bespin, I used to imagine all of these conversations I would have with him, when I confronted him again” Luke continued. “Were you the one who ordered the moisture farm destroyed? That’s what I wanted to ask him. Did you even remember that Owen was your step-brother when you ordered his execution - did you care? Did you know you killed my best friend in the whole world?” Luke’s voice cracked as he reached for his fourth shot, downing it quickly and then making a sour face, reaching for the lime.

Mara followed suit, although drank hers with a measured gulp. “Why didn’t you?” she couldn’t help but ask. He must have had the opportunity on Endor, before being taken before the Emperor.

“Because...I wanted to see the good in him, and not the evil,” Luke responded. “Maybe I didn’t want to know the answers.”

Mara wasn’t sure what to say, her own feelings towards Vader were still so complicated. But through their bond she had felt Luke’s complete and utter love for his father, the true forgiveness for the actions he’d described, even if they still caused him pain. She could no longer completely hate Vader, because he was part of Luke, and there was nothing about her husband she did not accept.

“There’s Wedge.” The melancholy seemed to melt off of Luke’s face as he pointed out the dark-haired Corellian at the bar, as if a reminder to him that while he had lost loved ones, there were still plenty alive and well. Luke waved as Wedge approached them on somewhat unsteady legs.

“Hello, hello, hello,” Wedge greeted them with an alcohol-infused grin. “If it isn’t the newlyweds. I see that you’re drinking - I very much approve.”

“I see you have as well, Wedge,” Luke laughed.

“We’re taking the newbie Rogue on a bar crawl,” Wedge proclaimed. “To welcome him to the Squad.”

“So where are the rest of them?” Mara enquired.

“In the private room,” Wedge jerked a thumb to the back to the bar. “You’re welcome to join us.”

“Maybe later,” Luke smiled, giving Mara an apologetic look.

“You’ve got some starshine shots,” Wedge said approvingly, taking one of Luke’s glasses and drowning it, then shaking salt directly into his mouth before sucking on a lime wedge. “You know, Mara, I always thought that you were a bit like starshine,” Wedge continued as he slid into the booth next to her and put his arm around her shoulders. “Bitter, you know? An acquired taste - but worth it if you have the constitution.”

“Thanks.” Mara responded dryly, shirking away from his friendly embrace. “I suppose there’s a compliment in there somewhere.”

Luke nodded his head towards the bar and gave Wedge a look. “We might see you later.”

“Alright, alright,” Wedge chuckled as he stood up again. “I was a newlywed myself once.” Then he gave them a lazy salute and headed towards the back room where the sounds of merriment could be heard.

Bitter. The word rolled around in Mara’s head, and even though Wedge had meant no harm, his words had still cut at her slightly. In years past such a description would not have bothered her, for she had worn her indifference and acerbity like armor. There was a part of her that would never let go of that, for it was at her very core. And yet...since being with Luke, since deciding to embrace the love he had shown her, Mara had thought some of her acrimonious nature would soften. It had, but it seemed only when she was with Luke alone.

Mara salted another lime and pressed her teeth into the sour, fruity flesh. Luke was always openly affectionate with her, but more often than not she pulled away if they had an audience, reluctant to embrace, kiss or tease him in front of others. She wondered how his friends looked at her, whether they thought her cold and shrill, because they had no direct line to her heart and mind at Luke did. She shouldn’t care, Mara told herself, as she took another shot of starshine, and yet she had been welcomed by Luke’s family and friends, and felt as if she needed to make more of an effort to be part of his life, and not zealously guard her privacy and keep his other loved ones at a distance.

“Are you alright, Mara?” Luke asked as he followed suit and drank his sixth shot, his fifth having been stolen by Wedge.

“I was jealous, before,” Mara she told him, feeling uncharacteristically emotional.

Luke looked up from his shot of starshine. “What?”

Mara nodded to the bar, where the Twi’lek waitress was serving. “I’m always jealous when I see someone flirt with you, or look at you or touch you or...whatever,” she continued, the effects of the alcohol starting to kick in, her eyes watering. “Because I can’t seem to do that, at least not in front of other people. Even now, when I’m half out of my senses I can’t quite seem to...show you how I feel. I should climb over this table and throw myself into your arms and kiss you and not care who sees. I want to...but I won’t. And I don’t know why.”

Luke looked surprised by her uncharacteristic outburst. “I know how you feel about me, Mara,” he said softly, his love radiating through their bond and filling her with a warm and light glow.

As always, Mara was touched her his open and easy acceptance of her, but then affection for others came so naturally to him and a way she had yet to learn. She steeled herself and sighed deeply.

“Well tonight you’re not going to be the only one who does,” Mara declared. In quick succession she drowned her last two remaining shots of starshine, slamming the last glass on the table with determination. Already she could feel the fire in her blood, the slight blur in her senses that would do the job of lowering her inhibitions for her. “We’re going to go celebrate with the Rogues.”

“Mara, are you sure?” Luke asked, although he got to work finishing his own shots.

“Well tonight you’re not going to be the only one who does,” Mara declared. In quick succession she drowned her last two remaining shots of starshine, slamming the last glass on the table with determination. Already she could feel the fire in her blood, the slight blur in her senses that would do the job of lowering her inhibitions for her.

“We’re going to go celebrate with the Rogues.”

“Mara, are you sure?” Luke asked, although he got to work finishing his own shots.
“I told you, Skywalker,” she said. “I can drink you under the table, but that's not the only thing I'm going to prove tonight."

_________________________________________

The private back room of the Sanvia Slammer was full to capacity with pilots chugging ales and downing whiskey shots. Perhaps it was the crowd, or perhaps she was starting to feel the effects of the starshine, but Mara felt slightly unsteady on her feet as she gripped Luke’s arm for support.


The room was decorated for the Festival, a large tree in one corner and holiday decorations strug around the walls and from the roof. All of the Rogues were there; Wedge, Hobbie, Wes, Tycho and Corran, along with a few others Mara didn’t know. Iella, Winter and Mirax were also in attendance, and they waved to Mara as she entered the room.


“It’s the Boss!” Hobbie exclaimed on seeing Luke. “You gotta come drink with us Luke!”


They made their way over to the bar, and Mara endured the usual jokes from the Rogues before turning to talk to the ladies. She’d resolved to let go at this party, but even with the amount of alcohol she’d consumed so far Mara still felt withdrawn from it all - but she was closer to Mirax, Winter and Iella and started up an easy conversation with them.


Before long the Twi’lek waitress from the bar appeared with a tray of alcohol. “Another starshine, Madame Skywalker?” she asked, and Mara took it gratefully while Iella took a champagne flute, Winter a glass of white wine and Mirax a shot of whiskey.


The Twi’lek moved onto the group of Rogues. “Ales all around,” she announced, and the men descended on the tray eagerly. Then the Twi’lek hugged the tray to her belly in a way that made her cleavage even more impressive and took a step back.


“Would you like another starshine as well, Master Skywalker?” she asked sweetly.


“I’m sorry?” Luke asked, apparently unable to hear her over his conversation with the newest member of the squad. He took a step towards her and she repeated the question.


“No, I’m alright with ale, thank you,” Luke said, raising his pint glass and smiling.

Then the Twi’lek looked up and blushed prettily in a way that seemed to Mara to be entirely put upon.

“Oh, Master Skywalker,” the Twi’lek breathed and pointed upwards to where a small bundle of green leaves tied together with a red bow hung from the ceiling. “We’re under the mystle.”


“Ohhhh!” Wes cut in. “Give her a kiss Luke! It’s tradition!”


Luke shot Mara a look, probably thinking her her earlier admission regarding jealousy, but she shrugged her shoulders. He smiled awkwardly and gave the Twi’lek a peck on the cheek - one she returned slightly more enthusiastically. Mara resolved that no matter how much she drank, she would keep an eye on where the various bundles of mystle were strung around the room so she could avoid them. Luke, however, was not so cautious or so lucky.


Not more than an hour had passed before he was caught twice more under the mystle with other waitresses. He gave Mara a helpless look each time, but she just laughed, violently quashing the surge of jealousy she felt as he kissed the young women on the cheek. Mara could see that they were quite cleverly moving Luke around the room so that he wouldn’t notice where he was standing, and then of course would get stuck under the mystle. He seemed quite bewildered as to why he was constantly standing under a bunch when it rarely seemed to happen to the other guests.


The original Twi’lek waitress somehow got herself another go under the mystle, but this time seized her opportunity, grabbing Luke’s face and kissing him firmly on the mouth. Luke looked dumbfounded and dazed when the Twi’lek pulled away, and she carefully avoided Mara’s gaze as she darted from the room with an exhilarated look on her face.


The night wore on and Mara found herself becoming more relaxed, unsurprisingly, the more she drank. She was even having fun; taking shots with Wes and Hobbie at the bar with all of their hands tied behind their backs, dancing with Iella and Mirax to the frantic music played by the band and talking flying maneuvers with Tycho Celchu, who drew very complicated diagrams on napkins to prove his points.


She was at the bar with Mirax taking fresh shots when Mara thought it best to check on her husband, since it had been over an hour since she’d talked to him. When she located him across the room, however, Mara scowled.



“Who is that?” she asked, pointing towards a pretty blonde woman who was talking with Luke.


“Uh...Zelia Faraday, I think,” Mirax furrowed her brow as if trying to recall the memory. “She does a lot of charity work with the Rogues, I guess that’s why they invited her.”


Mara didn’t like the way the woman put her hand on Luke’s arm or the coquettish way she threw her head back to laugh at one of Luke’s jokes as they wandered aimlessly around the room. “She seems to know Luke.”


Mirax gave her a wary look. “I think she was Preeni Pi for the Festival a few years ago,” she said. “I remember because I always deliver the tree - Luke was the special guest that year if I recall.”


“I see,” Mara said coldly, although she felt her blood begin to boil. So that was the Preeni Pi her husband had fooled around with, she thought with a grimace. Of course, he had not been her husband then, but Mara had taken some comfort in the knowledge that all of Luke’s other ex-girlfriends were either dead or out of the picture. She’d never had to deal with actually meeting one since she and Luke had been married.


Mara took another shot of starshine and eyed Luke chatting to the woman, barely listening to Mirax as she went on. She tried to nudge her husband with the Force, but the alcohol had dulled her senses, and her clumsy push went nowhere near him. Instead Corran, who was standing near the Festival tree, looked around bewildered and confused. Mara retreated hastily, putting her empty shot back on the bar.


“Oh, not in the nine Corellian hells,” Mara muttered under her breath as she saw that Zelia, either by chance or design, had steered Luke back under the mystle. She crossed the room in surprisingly few paces and cleared her throat loudly just as Luke was about to kiss the woman on the cheek.


Zelia looked at her and blushed. “Oh, hello,” she said, clasping her hands together nervously. “You must be Mara.”


“Yes,” Mara said, giving the woman a death glare. “Luke’s wife.”


Luke gave her a look which was probably intended to be a rebuke, but he was too drunk so it simply came across as slightly annoyed. “This is Zelia,” he said.


“The infamous Preeni Pi,” Mara raised one eyebrow, and Zelia blushed harder.


“Oh, well…” she stammered nervously. “It was nice to see you again, Luke,” she added and then quickly slinked away.


Luke shook his head lazily at her. “What’re you doing, Mara?”


“I’ve come to kiss my husband under the mystle,” Mara said purposefully, cupping his cheeks in her hands and bringing his face down to hers in a searing kiss. She heard the gathering start to whistle and cheer, but Mara ignored them, for once unashamed to show her true feelings.


“What do you think they would do if I jumped you right here?” Mara murmured against his mouth.


“They’d think I was pretty damn lucky,” was Luke’s response.


“Home. Now.” Mara demanded as she pulled away, not caring who saw or overheard.


“Can’t wait that long,” Luke muttered, and to the enthusiastic applause and encouragement of their friends, pulled her swiftly out the back door of the bar and into the dark alleyway.

 

Hmmm. I love that. I like the seeming lightheartedness of the gift of Starshines but underlying it all is a deeper symbolism for each - Luke's feelings about Biggs and his father. Mara's about herself and Luke. Bravo! Feels very Knight_Aragorn-ish if that makes any sense.

 

This is my fault?! *runs and hides*



*peeks back out*

I'm not sorry.

No, really, this was excellent. The raw, bittersweet conversation gave me life, gurl.

EDIT: LOL at the idea that Tatooine makes tequila.

 

You know, I really love how on the whole the gifts are Luke giving Mara his past and she's taking his past and creating their future together. (And in that shared future he'll have a much more stylish wardrobe!!) It's like, they're married, but now they're learning to be a couple.

Master Skywalker!!

I love this fic. Have I mentioned that? I just want to make sure that I got that out there in the galaxy. I LOVE THIS FIC.

 

ginchy said it best: they're giving each other their pasts and their future.

Flirty!Luke is the one of my favorite Lukes. And flirty!drunk!Luke? *swoon*

This was a great gift and chapter. Not disjointed at all!

 

This is soo cool if your second half happens to be good drinking buddy. I love that Luke's gift is slowly becoming Mara's gift to him.

 

And LM at the drinking party with Rogues. I would pay money to see this!

 

Oooh, I love the gifts for Days 5, 6, and 7! I love the idea that Mara gave Luke the Jedi path. And FIIIIIVE GOOOOOLD RINGS! (Sorry, channeling Miss Piggy there. )

 

It does make sense Thank you! I think Luke and Mara would have plenty of these kind of conversations early in their marriage - they know all of it because of their bond, but they still need to talk about things.

Yep, your fault! I'm so glad it worked - even with Mara kind of not saying much about the Vader-Biggs thing, because what can she say? But she supports Luke and let's him express what he feels in a way he can't with anyone else.

And according to the Wook, a Tatooine Sunburn is indeed a thing!

You put it so well, gal! That's kind of what I've been going for, because they haven't been married that long and haven't spent that much time together, so they're still learning how to be husband and wife. And Luke can be a naughty boy

And I forgot to thank you in the first post! Thanks for the alcohol idea, gal!

Thanks! I love flirty!drunk!Luke as well - there will likely be some bonus content for this chapter as well, when I get time to write it...

Thank you! I wanted to write the scene with Luke and Mara at the Rogue party but wanted to get it posted last night. But I will probably write a bonus section which includes that

Well, Luke did once meet Miss Piggy...

 

8

Luke looked incredulously at the large box he’d just opened, his Festival gift from Mara. Inside were eight red bows, the kind which were often hung on Festival trees or used to bind mystle plants.

"They're very pretty," Luke said, somewhat confused as he looked back up at his wife. "What are they for?"

"To braid your hair with, Skywalker," Mara punched him lightly in the arm and laughed. "Eight bows, in exchange for eight kisses."

"I see," Luke said, remembering that mystle plants with red bows were often hung up at Festival parties, and if two guests were caught under one together they were to share a kiss. In fact, he had a vague memory of being caught under one the previous night - several times in fact, to the point where he wondered if he’d kept being deliberately moved to that area by various people. Searching through the alcohol haze of his memory, Luke was certain that one of the times he’d been stuck under the mystle had been with Mara.

“That’s where I got the idea,” Mara confirmed with a wry smile. “But tonight all of the kisses are coming from me.”

Luke put down the box on the caf table, lifting only one of the bows out of the box and up over his mouth. Mara smirked and obligingly took it from him and pressed her lips to his. Her kiss was warm and soft, and Luke was glad that he was sober enough this time to enjoy it. Mara’s hands wound around his neck to pull him closer, deepening the kiss and making him sigh gently into her mouth.

"You can be more creative than that, Luke," she murmured softly as she broke away, taking one of the bows from the box and pressing it to the side of his neck for a few seconds. Then she took it away, discarding the bow onto the floor and replacing where it had rested against his skin with her lips.

"Oh," Luke gasped as she gently nibbled and sucked on the sensitive skin. "I see." Briefly, he wondered if the gift had been brought on by their discussion the previous night, and Mara’s confession that she still found it difficult to be openly affectionate with him in public. And yet from what little memories he did have of that night indicated the point was now moot.

“Maybe I just want to kiss you,” Mara said as she lifted her head and smiled. She twisted in his arms and made a show of looking down at the gift box which held the remaining red bows. "You have six left, Skywalker," she whispered softly. "Choose wisely."



_________________________________________________________________________



9


In the cockpit of the Jade Sabre, Mara stood behind the pilot’s chair and willed herself not to grip the headrest too tightly. The source of her anxiety was young Jaina Solo in her chair, the young girl maneuvering the ship through the empty space above Coruscant. Mara couldn’t deny that the girl showed promise as a pilot, and yet Mara flinched slightly at every move she made navigating the ship on an unseen path through open space. Luke appeared supremely unconcerned, sitting in the co-pilot’s chair, and Mara knew he had not missed her white knuckles.

“It’s different from the Falcon,” Jaina told them as she flew the Sabre in a wide loop-the-loop, and Mara’s heart leapt into her throat. “It’s much smoother.”

Mara leaned forward and put her hand over Jaina’s at the controls. “So you have to be smooth in your movements as well,” she said gently, guiding Jaina’s hand through another loop, this one taken with much less lurching. “You may have to jerk the Falcon’s controls around to get the old girl to move, but my ship requires more grace.”

“Oh, kind of like fighting with a ‘saber?” Jaina asked as she concentrated her movements carefully based on Mara’s guiding hand. “You can bash away with it and you might get lucky, but the only real chance in a fight is if you glide.”

“That’s right, Jaina,” Luke said with a proud smile.

“And how many lightsaber fights have you been in, Jaina?” Mara enquired, surprised at the wisdom from a child so young.

“I’ve watched Uncle Luke a lot,” Jaina shrugged.

“Why don’t you let Mara have the controls back now,” Luke suggested. “I think there’s some beebleberry ice-cream in the galley, if you want some. Just don’t tell your Mom.” He gave Jaina a wink, and the child’s face lit up with excitement. She did, however, have the presence of mind to slow the ship down to a gentle glide before bounding out of the cockpit and running down to the galley.

Mara flopped down into the pilot’s chair with relief and gazed out at the starfield before them and the light of Coruscant below. The ship had shifted to auto-pilot, which would allow the to cruise through the stars for a while.

“You’re very good with her,” Luke observed.

“She’s a good kid,” Mara nodded. “And she’s going to be one hell of a pilot.”

“Han’s very proud,” Luke grinned and rose from the co-pilot’s chair. “I better go make sure she doesn’t take all the ice cream.”

Mara stayed in the cockpit, contemplating Luke’s words. She had quite enjoyed showing Jaina how to fly the Sabre, her usual discomfort around children falling away. Mara had never disliked children, but she’d never had much exposure to them and found them difficult to relate to. Every word she said came out sounding patronising to her own ears, so she usually avoided conversation altogether. And yet the Sabre was a subject Mara was completely comfortable with, and found it easy to direct Jaina’s movements and offer advice.

Her musings were interrupted by Jaina re-entering the cockpit, a large bowl of ice cream in her hands. She sat in the co-pilot’s chair and began to eat with gusto.

“Where’s your Uncle?” Mara asked.

“In the galley,” Jaina said in between mouthfuls. “He said he’d clean up.”

“He’s handy that way,” Mara smiled to herself. Luke was far too indulgent of his niece and nephews, but Mara found she couldn’t blame him for that. She watched Jaina eat her ice cream, and despite herself Mara’s heart felt light. She still remembered when Jaina had been just an infant, when Mara had been so certain she would have to kill Luke, that she would never get rid of the Emperor’s voice from her head. And yet she’d made the decision to help Leia save her children in an instant, to protect the twins from mad old Joruus C’baoth so they would not suffer the same fate as Mara had - torn from their family and raised by darkness. So much had changed in ten years, but from the beginning Mara had known that she would choose to act as Jaina's protector every time.

“Do you think you and Uncle Luke are going to have kids?” Jaina asked, pulling Mara from her reverie.

“What?”

“Kids,” Jaina said, taking a large bite of her ice cream. “People get married, and they have kids. Most people, anyway.”

Mara bristled at the question and stared at the young girl, unsure of how to respond.

“Mom told me not to ask you that,” Jaina added, a little sheepishly. “She said it would make you upset. And then Dad said that I should go ahead and ask, if I wanted my arm chopped off just like Uncle Luke.”

Mara looked at the child curiously. “Then why did you ask?”

Jaina shrugged. “Mom and Dad don’t know everything,” she reasoned. “What if no one ever asked you because they didn’t want to make you mad, but you really didn’t mind answering at all? Then no one would ever know.”

Mara couldn’t fault her reasoning. “You’ve got guts, Jaina, but I’m not going to answer your question.”

“Oh, okay.” Jaina looked down at her ice-cream and swirled her spoon around. “But are you mad at me?”

“No, I’m not mad,” Mara said, her voice softening.

“Good,” Jaina smiled. “Because you know, I’m really happy you married Uncle Luke. He was always so sad before - he tried to hide it, but you could see it sometimes. I could feel it, as well, here.” Jaina patted her hand against her heart. “But now he’s always happy, and it feels warm again. Like a sunrise.” She took another spoon of her ice cream, the utensil scraping the bottom of the bowl. “And I’m really happy it was you,” she continued, looking up from her empty bowl a little bashfully. “I always thought you were so pretty, and clever and funny.” Jaina laughed nervously, as if she was telling Mara a secret. “And I thought the blaster in your sleeve was super cool. So I’m really glad you’re my Auntie now.” She hopped up out of the co-pilot’s chair and walked over to give Mara a warm hug, carefully keeping her bowl out of the way. “I’m really glad you’re my family.”

Mara was deeply touched, patting Jaina’s back softly. “I’m...really glad, too,” she said as Jaina pulled back, gratified when the girl gave her a big grin and skipped out of the cockpit. Luke was leaning against the doorframe, a stupid grin on his face.

“How long were you there, Skywalker?” Mara asked him, turning back to the control panel.

“Long enough.” Luke stood behind the pilot’s chair, his warm hands resting on Mara’s shoulders as he bent down to kiss the top of her head. “She’s right, you know,” he whispered.

“About me being pretty, clever and funny?” Mara joked. “Yeah, I know.”

“Well, that too,” Luke chuckled, and massaged her shoulders lightly. “About you making me happy.” He kissed her hair again and sat down in the co-pilot’s chair. “So are you ready for your gift?”

“You have it on you?” she asked.

He patted his tunic playfully and gave her a wry look. “We’re sitting in it,” he told her.

“The Sabre?” she questioned. “You already gave her to me.”

Luke smiled. “Yeah, but I’ve been working on her. Try the sequence four-oh-six-eighty.”

Mara leaned forward to the controls and punched in the sequence. Looking towards the targeting computer, she was surprised to see nine new guns pop up on the screen. She tapped the screen for more details, and saw that all nine were located along the belly of the ship from stern to bow, mounted on pivots that made them deftly maneuverable. Unlike the quad laser cannons, they could be operated from her pilot’s chair and gave her ship serious defensive capabilities. If ever surrounded, she now had the potential to fire in all directions and if piloted correctly, could pose a significant threat in battle.

“Luke…” Mara looked at her husband, overwhelmed by the magnitude of the gift. Since the Festival had started, Luke had given her so much of himself; the little things which had allowed him to express himself, for her to understand him better. But that day’s gift demonstrated just how well he understood her, as he had when he’d first given her the ship to celebrate their marriage, painstakingly crafted by his own hand. Now Luke had improved it; had given her weapons capable of precise, widespread destruction.

She had never loved him more.

 

#8 - LOL and SQUEEEEEEE! Very inventive and delicious! #9: Very definitely a gift that shows Luke knows Mara well. The Jaina/Mara talk was fantabulous. Jaina has the frankness of youth and she's also correct on all counts. I'm happy it's Mara making Luke happy too.

 

I think we missed something in Day 8... But Day 9 was fantastic!! Oh, from the mouths of babes. Mara is going to kill Han later. You had me going for a second, though. When Mara started contemplating how she'd always protected the Solo kids I thought the gift was going to be baby-related.

 

Somehow this makes me ROTFL so hard.

 

Nine guns. Luke knows the way to Mara's heart.