Beyond - Legends "Aflame", a L/M vignette for Jade_eyes

Aflame

Genre: Romance
Rating: PG
Time Frame: Post VoTF, Pre Union
Characters: Luke, Mara

Notes: For over a year now, Jade_eyes has been a fantastic beta for me. I will be the first one to tell you that I am not an English Teacher friendly writer my fist try, and so I daresay that you would have a much harder time with my stories if it were not for all of the tireless effort Jade_eyes has put into my stories. She has stuck with me with everything from MMM vigs to ?It Started With a Kiss?, ?Raging Rose? and a pet project that I can't talk about yet.

I figured that it was about time to repay her for all of her hard work.

As our resident mush-addict and certified Squee!maniac, I figured the best thing I could give her was an uberly mushy fic. And this was what she wanted.

So, enjoy! And thanks so much for everything, gal!

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[i]Aflame
by Mira_Jade[/i]


It all feels slightly surreal still. Part of me expects to wake up any minute to the floor of Niruran's caverns. Luke would tease me about oversleeping, and then we would be on our way again. Nothing more between us than flickering smiles and that easy back and forth sort of banter that always seemed to thrive between us.

I've already pinched myself, so I daresay that I won't be waking up any time soon.

And I'm perfectly content with that.

Content . . . I think that that is a way I have not felt in such a long time. I thought I was. There were times when I thought that I was happy even. I had a job, colleagues, enough action to keep my life interesting.

And now this.

Before I was simply half. And yet, now I am apart of a whole. And it is not terrifying nor annoying or any of the thousand and one adjectives I would have used to describe it. It's beautiful. It's something soulful and mesmerizing to be bound to something tangible.

I never would have thought that I would know such happiness at his side.

And it's only been three days since Niruan! We're at an outpost just into the Known Regions where Luke had a few contacts to cash in on. The suite is far from four-stars, to be sure, but the cushions are cozy, and the heat fogged windows have a beautiful view to the icy expanse of space that was visible through the thin atmosphere.

I'm getting twittery just thinking about him. I never would have thought that I would feel this way ? I would even scoff at others for feeling this way! My smile has not left me the whole morning, and I couldn't even muster enough energy to scowl at the cleaning droids who came through when I so clearly fashioned a 'do not disturb' sign outside of the door.

I can feel Luke's thoughts from where he has finished talking to the base's commander. He is happy, and the cascade of emotion feels like the freshness of spring rain against my own.

It is wonderful to be bonded to him in this way.

I remember the old legends about the Jedi. Even from my studies under Palpatine I know that the bond that Luke and I share is rare. Special, I like to think. I know that bonds could be shared by close ones under crucible like circumstances. In small moments, I wonder if this is why the old Order rejected attachments between themselves. For I know, due to what I am feeling now, I would gladly sunder heaven and hell for he and what he calls his. It wouldn't matter what rules I'd break or oaths I'd shatter whilst doing so.

I can feel his amusement as my thoughts turned slightly darker. At first it had been . . . disconcerting to feel his reactions to my every thought. I am a solitary person by nature and by habit, and at first the open connection between us made me want to hide. I was on the verge of slamming my barriers into place when he quietly, and earnestly, asked me not to.

So I didn't.

We spent the first few nights after Niruan (when we were not more pleasantly occupied) pouring over each others memories. What started as a borderline meditation session turned into an exercise to see just how deep our connection w