Beyond - Legends Important Questions (Mara Challenge Response)

Okay, so even though I was the one who issued the challenge, it took me a while to come up with something! Then this took longer than it should have because I tried to start writing it one morning after I got off work, fell asleep at the computer, and when I woke up to stumble to bed, I accidentally deleted the damn thing and had to start over.

But here it is, at last!

Author: kayladie
Title: Important Questions
Timeframe: Several years after Union
Characters: Luke, Mara
Genre: Humor, Mush
Summary: Sometimes there's more behind the question than just the obvious.
Notes: In reponse to the "Surprise Blessing" Challenge in the Mara Jade Characterization Thread


Challenge: In a universe with no Vong, where Mara doesn't have that stupid disease (!), write Mara letting Luke know that she's pregnant. Except she can't tell him straight out...it has to be done in some way that Luke realizes it for himself. Can be funny or sweet (even sappy!).

Must include the words:

momentous

fertile

stimulating

abundant

the phrase "swollen like a Hutt" (bonus points if Luke says it and Mara doesn't kill him!)


Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters (if I did, L/M would have about a half dozen children, I love Daddy!Luke ) and I'm not making any money from this.


Late One Night on Coruscant

The X-Wing soared gracefully through the inky blackness of deep space. There were no enemies chasing it, instead the pilot was flying simply for the joy of flying. Luke Skywalker couldn?t hold back his grin as he took the ship into a steep dive and then twisted and rolled to the right.

The smile disappeared as the fighter suddenly began to shudder and shake, and he quickly dropped his gaze to check the instrument panel. Nothing seemed to be amiss, but something was definitely wrong somewhere.

?Luke.?

Startled, he glanced up and around the cockpit. Was that Ben, speaking to him through the Force after so long? But it didn?t sound like Obi-Wan...

?Luke!?

A sharp pain shot through his side, causing him to gasp in surprise. He opened his eyes to find himself in his bed, with his wife shaking him by the shoulder and jabbing him in the ribs with her finger.

?Are you awake??

?I am now,? he said grumpily. Mara let go of his shoulder and sat back a little bit. Luke rubbed the sore spot on his side, while trying not to glare too much at her. She always managed to interrupt his flying dreams. It was uncanny.

She reached around and turned on the lamp that was on the bedside table, and Luke grunted as the light hit his unprepared eyes. Squinting up at her, he tried to ask in a calm, patient voice, ?What is it, Mara??

?Do you think we have enough money??

He blinked at her. ?I?m sorry, what??

?Money. Do you think we have enough savings in case something...unexpected should happen??

She was serious, he realized. His wife had actually jarred him out of a relaxing sleep with this momentous - in her mind, anyway - question. Luke wasn?t quite sure what to say. The two of them certainly weren?t rich by any means, but they lived quite comfortably on Luke?s pension from the military and the investments Mara had made during her time with Karrde. Neither of them were particularly concerned with material things anyway, so they?d never found themselves in any financial difficulties.

Obviously, she wasn?t going to allow either of them to go back to sleep until she had an answer, so Luke gave her one.

?Yes. Yes, I?m quite sure we have enough money,? he said slowly.

?Oh. Well, then. That?s good,? she said, and gave a nod of her head as though she agreed with him. Mara leaned over and kissed him on the lips. ?Love you,? she said with a little yawn, turned around to shut off the lamp, and then laid back down and was asleep within minutes.

?Love you, too,? he said, still a bit puzzled at the whol

 

Mara gasped in outrage, then glared at her own stomach. ?Don?t you guys even think about it!?

Best line of the whole fic!


And I loved the stumbling little clues that Mara kept giving Luke all day until he finally added it all up. T'was very cute!

 

?What if it?s a boy??

He winked up at her. ?Luke junior.?

?No,? she said, and her tone meant business. ?Gods, one of you is enough.?



This was hilarious kayladie! I loved Mara's roundabout way of telling Luke the news...poor guy, trying to figure out what was up with his wife!

I absolutely loved it! Fantastic job!

 

Oh, this is just perfect! I love every bit of it...Mara dropping hints and poor Luke trying to keep up with her! I love how every section ended with them saying "Love you".

Great job!

Thanks for coming up with the challenge, btw. I've really enjoyed it! I love this challenge!

 

Awsome fic!

Poor Mara, she's doomed if Luke continues thinking about twins!

Great job.

 

"What if it?s a boy??
He winked up at her. ?Luke junior.?
?No,? she said, and her tone meant business. ?Gods, one of you is enough.?
Heh, two Lukies, poor Mara. I'll take one off her hands!

?Hey, maybe we?ll get lucky like Leia and Han and have twins!?
Mara gasped in outrage, then glared at her own stomach. ?Don?t you guys even think about it!?
But you just used a plural, Mara! *snickers*

~Misha

 

I loved it! You're making me all Luke love sick , you're really good at writning his character kayladie97!

//Jedi_Emilie

 

Love it!

Love that Luke has dreams about flying...

Love Mara questioning him about money....

Love Mara's little "I loves you's" after each question

Love that she stole his dessert


In summary =

 

Absolutely wonderful!

?Do you have any life insurance??

?Do I have any what?? he asked, again staring at her in confusion.

?Life insurance. You know, that stuff that takes care of any loved ones left behind if you should die,? she said impatiently.

?I thought you had decided against killing me,? he teased. But apparently, she was once again totally serious.

Well, SKywalker, you never know! I mean, you could mess it up again! Just by being male!


?It must be the Force at work, then.?

?That, or the Skywalker swimmers were just as slow in reproducing as their host was in proposing,? Mara teased with a devilish grin.

?Oh, that hurt, Jade!?

?Hey, that?s Jade-Skywalker to you,? she murmured.

Oh, Luke you should have seen that one coming!

Loved it all, every single word!

 

Soooo........

I see you CAN write romantic viggies... quickly!

I really liked the part about life insurance. I can imagine what kind of payments people like Luke and Mara would have! No wonder she's worried about money.


Good job... although I expect nothing less from you. (and I haven't forgotten about your long, long ago promise, either.)

 

Wonderful!

Cute and mushy and realistic too.

Loved it!

 

I LOVED this, Kathy!!

Leave it to Mara to get all worried and practical: money, life insurance, living space. She is SO already thinking in Mom Mode.

Each section ending with ?Love you? and ?Love you, too? was great!

My favorite line:

?Love you, too,? he mumbled and then he watched her walk away. ?But I wasn?t planning on dying anytime soon,? he said to the empty room.

Brilliant response!

 

It just kept getting better as it moved along. wonderful story.

Thanks for making the challenge too. I've loved all the responses.

 

Aww...adorable! Loved it. Mara just kept on dropping those hints... *grins* Very sweet fic.

 

What a wonderfully sweet little viggie, Kayladie97.

Great job!!!

AG88

By the way, don't you have some WIP FICs you should be working on.

 

Yay!! I'm so glad you answered your own challenge. And it was great! I loved the line about the Skywalker swimmers. And I like the name Shay, too. Very sweet.

 

Oh, I love this. That's a wonderful way for Mara to tell Luke. Poor Luke, so befuddled by feminine thinking. Mara's really fun when she's playing mind games with him, though. I think that this:

?You?ll be the most beautiful Hutt in the entire galaxy, my love,? Luke said and reached out to take her in his arms, holding her close as he began to kiss her neck.

Mara laughed in delight, both at the kisses and his words. ?Oh, Farmboy, if that?s what you consider a compliment, it?s a wonder we got married at all, much less pregnant!?

-is my favorite part, but this:


?That, or the Skywalker swimmers were just as slow in reproducing as their host was in proposing,? Mara teased with a devilish grin.

-comes in as a close second. Mara never was one to pull her punches, was she? Great story, kayladie!

 

Oh my gosh. My favorite part is how even though it's still hilarious, this approach you have Mara take is also totally practical--which is utterly in character for her.

 

An oh-so-sweet response!

Perfect build up...that's right Mara...string him along. He'll get there; eventually.

?That, or the Skywalker swimmers were just as slow in reproducing as their host was in proposing,? Mara teased with a devilish grin.

?Oh, that hurt, Jade!?

That has got to be one of the funniest lines in this challenge!

Loved it!

 

When he finally walked into the kitchen to join her for dinner, he was dismayed to discover Mara had decided to eat the chocolate ryshcate he?d made for dessert before the meal. And she?d eaten his piece, too.

Hahaaaa! Poor Luke, it really does bite when someone eats your share of the cake.

Slow Skywalker swimmers...

 

Jaina_Solo_15: Heh, glad you liked that line! Thanks for reading!

AzulSaber: It'd be too easy for her to just come right out and say it, now wouldn't it? Thanks!

ginchy: I'm glad you caught that bit about the 'Love you's'. That was a last-minute addition that I thought was just too cute! Thanks, I loved reading all the wonderful responses to this challenge, too.

Jadie: Oh, I wish Luke and Mara did have twins. I just adore Daddy!Luke SO much! Thanks for reading!

DreamingIce: I think you'd have a fight on your hands for that second Luke, and not just from me! I don't think she realized she might have been jinxing herself, did she?

JediEmilie: Hey, if I can help out a fellow Luke-lover with our obsession, it's my pleasure! And thanks for the compliment about writing him. He's my absolute favorite to write as well as to read!

JadeLotus: And I love replies like that! Thank you so much for your kind words.

VaderLVR: Thanks! He still seems to be a step behind her sometimes, doesn't he? Or at least he definitely was in THIS fic!

MarySue: I can write L/M viggies quickly!! But I delivered what I promised, didn't I? Even if it was way late. Mara's ever the practical one. Man, I never thought about that...I'll bet Luke can't even GET life insurance!

Healer_Leona: Glad you liked Luke's answer to the Life Insurance bit, that was one of my favorite parts, too. And I personally loved the swimmer's line, although I worried that it might be a bit too harsh. Luke seemed to take it well, though!

RedGold: Thanks, I'm glad you liked it!

Trace: Yup, that's typical Mara for you, I think! I'll bet Luke waited til she left the room to say that line, cause as weird as she was acting, he probably worried that she had decided to reinstate that death mark on him!

RebelMom: Oh, thank you! That was a lovely compliment. And I had to do something...there seemed to be a shortage of L/M fluff there for a while.

Alethia: Thanks! She knew Luke would catch on sooner or later!

AG88: Thanks, glad you liked it! WIP's? What are these WIP's of which you speak?

Michele: It took me a while, but I finally got it together and got one written. I like the name Shay, too. I just looked it up on a baby name site, but I might use it in a fic now! Thanks!

Gabri_Jade: I'm always so flattered when you read one of my stories and compliment me on my Mara. It's like a stamp of approval from the official source! Thanks!

ThePariah: It really is practical of her, isn't it? Hey, at least one of them has to think of these things! Like earth dads-to-be buying an infant a football, Luke's probably already building the kid a lightsaber!

MirandaFair: Like a marriage proposal, telling a man he's going to be a daddy is something you have to do with a little flair. Glad you liked that line, I was quite proud of it, actually.

JadeSolo: I was surprised more people didn't comment on that, and really, Luke should have known right then, shouldn't he?! Thanks for reading!

 

I loved Mara's questions; Luke's reaction whe finally got the clue, and their entire conversation afterward. Had me chuckling. I do love mush!