Beyond - Legends Second to None (AU L/M, L/H & OC) 03/08/2012 Replies and artwork

I'm with JM77. Hello! Ask her out, already! Watch my lips and repeat after me "Mara, I'd like to have supper with you some time. How about it?"

Great scheme between the two Ms to get Luke off his hind end -- but Mara as a mother figure - hahahaha! Not exactly something I expected to read about her LOL

 

I love Mark going to work with Karrde. That is a great idea!! And Mara as Mark's mother-figure is great. LOL!! I love how she's like 'sister'! Reminds me of Smallville when Clark's little loser clone tried to ask him if he were his dad and Clark was all, "Brother! I prefer brother!" Love it.

Now what will happen when Luke gets there???

 

Lol! Mara as a mother-figure. She isn't going to be ready for that role for another few years!

I like Mark's plan. It could either work, or be disasterously hilarious!

 

Mara?s jaw fell and her eyes went wide. ?Did you just say ?eww? at the thought of having a relationship with me??

Mark winced. ?That came out wrong.?

Oh, yeah, that came out wrong!

He thought about it. ?I guess I would try to not think about it while kissing her.?

Mara couldn?t help but find this very amusing. ?You really are a Skywalker.?

He furrowed his brow in confusion. ?What?s that supposed to mean??

She waved him off. ?Just something Luke?s brother-in-law told me in confidence while we were tromping through the forest in Wayland. It?s a private joke.?

And now poor Mark is wondering he wants to be in the know or not about that one! I love it!

Mark is such a sweetie-pie, and Mara is too in a big-sister way! But you could practically see Mara's eye twitching at "Mother-Figure"!

I can't wait to see how them "testing" Luke is going to turn out!

 

Just trying to keep it as close to canon as possible.

Okay, maybe I will push him in that direction...or maybe Mark will.

I'm hoping for good too, but I had to write that dark gift-fic viggie, so my muse is confused.

I have never seen Smallville. How do you clone Superman? No, don't answer that. It probably involves Lex Luthor and Kryptonite. Thanks for the beta!

If I was a profic writer it would take two decades. Lets hope I can get Mara knocked up much sooner than that. That really didn't sound right. Let's hope Luke can knock her up much sooner than that.

Thanks. I like Mark. He reminds me of my sons a little bit...sneaky little kids.

 

Han glared at his brother-in-law, ?Let me get this straight. You want to start a relationship with Mara so you ask her to join you at the Academy.? Han shook his head in disgust. ?Luke you?re horrible with women.?

Luke was in Han and Leia?s apartment on Coruscant. They had spent most of the day debriefing the Senate and NR Intel about what they found on Wayland. Han and Luke were finally dismissed leaving Leia to deal with the politicians further.

?Well, I thought coming out and saying ?Do you want to date?? would scare her off. Anyway, what better way to spend a lot of time together?? Luke defended his actions. ?If she is at the Academy we can get to know each other. And she should be trained. She?s so strong in the Force.?

Han slapped his palm of his hand against his forehead. ?Kid, you are going about this backwards. Get the girl first and then nag her into becoming a Jedi.?

?I?m not nagging,? Luke protested.

?Luke, she?s going to think you?re only interested in her as a student. And?? Han held up his finger stopping Luke from interrupting him. ??if she is a student first, won?t that make it harder for you to pursue a relationship? She will be your student and you the Jedi Master.?

Luke thought about it for a moment. ?I guess that would make it awkward.?

Han smiled. ?Now you?re thinking, kid. And another thing, do you really think Mara wants you as her ?Master???

Luke frowned. ?What do you mean??

?Luke, when it comes to Force matters, Mara doesn?t seem to be a woman who wants to be subordinate to a man again?not after Palpatine.?

?Are you saying I?d turn out like him?? Luke was getting a little irritated.

?No, but a subordinate is a subordinate, it doesn?t matter if you are working for the most wonderful individual in the Galaxy?a subordinate is not an equal.? Han raised his voice trying to drive home the point to his naïve brother-in-law. ?You want an equal by your side, so start her out there. Get the relationship first, then let her be the one to ask for training and make sure it?s private training.?

Luke sighed. He wished he knew half of what Han did about the opposite sex. He sat down on Han?s couch and buried his head in his hands. ?I screwed up didn?t I??

?Probably, but it?s not too late. Just tell her what you told me.?

Luke looked up wide-eyed. ?You mean you want me to come out and say, ?Mara, I asked you to join me at the academy because I am interested in you not as a Jedi, but as a man?? Are you crazy??

?Sometime the best approach is the direct approach,? Han smirked. ?It worked with your sister.?

?I?m not going to kidnap Mara and ask her to marry me.?

Han laughed, ?Well maybe my approach to romance is not exactly right for you, but you could just clarify things a little.?

?Maybe,? Luke conceded. A chirping sound came from his pocket. He pulled out his comlink and checked who was calling. ?It?s from Mara.? Luke couldn?t help but smile. He activated the device. ?Luke here.? He listened for a minute. ?Great, I?ll be there in about a half hour.?

Luke turned off the comlink and grinned at Han. ?That was Mara, she said she finally was able to get Mark to shield. I am going over to the Genetic Treatment Center.?

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?So how is this supposed to work?? Mara stood next to Mark?s bed watching him finish his dinner that was brought in earlier as he slept.

He washed down some bread with a glass of juice. ?I think you should give me a look.?

Mara scrutinized him. ?A look??

?Yeah a look of longing.?

?What?s that supposed to look like??

Mark thought about it for a second. ?Maybe like this,? he unfocused his eyes, his lips were slightly parted and puckered.

Mara couldn?t help but laugh. ?That?s awful. That?s the look that I imagined you had during your prostate exam.?

Mark scowled. ?You should have warned me what was coming.?

?That would have just made things worse,? she snickered.

?Okay, what do you suggest??

?You stay in the bed. I?ll tell Luke you can now shield and I will put my hand on yours in a friendly manner.? She cocked an eyebrow. ?Do you think th

 

D'awwww! Yay! Mark is like the little brother - knocking sense into his big brother. Now Luke and Mara are going to get married and Mark is going to find a girl... wait! Why do I get the feeling it is not going to be that easy.

 

I love Han as the voice of reason. And I love Mark as the voice of reason too.

 

?Luke, she?s going to think you?re only interested in her as a student. And?? Han held up his finger stopping Luke from interrupting him. ??if she is a student first, won?t that make it harder for you to pursue a relationship? She will be your student and you the Jedi Master.?

Luke thought about it for a moment. ?I guess that would make it awkward.?

Hey, it worked okay in my fic! Well, kind of. LOL.

Han smiled. ?Now you?re thinking, kid. And another thing, do you really think Mara wants you as her ?Master???

Only after she's been dating you for a while.

Mark thought about it for a second. ?Maybe like this,? he unfocused his eyes, his lips were slightly parted and puckered.

Mara couldn?t help but laugh. ?That?s awful. That?s the look that I imagined you had during your prostate exam.?

If they only knew what going to the gyno was like!

?Okay, Luke. You should stop trying to recruit students and start developing friendships.?

Now THIS is good advice.

?Would you like to go out to dinner??

Somebody call the holopress. He actually did it!

 

Woohoo! Mark said some really spot-on, needed to hear stuff and I'm glad Luke listened. And he asked her to dinner, yayayayayay! And she agreed ... no fuss or fanfare, very nice and easy.

LOL

And of course Luke has to give her a good night kis after, and of course ... the sparks will sizzzzzle.

 

Han giving dating advice is wonderful! And Mark openly saying he wanted to bang Luke and Mara's heads together, priceless!


?I?m not nagging,? Luke protested.

I hate to break it to you, Luke, but you do nag. It's worse than your whining.

 

"That's the look I imagined you had during your prostate exams"

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

DAY: MADE! Thank you SO much for the update. I needed it.

 

Awww, Luke is so shy and sweet and you know Mara loves it. But no wonder it took them so long in profic if it takes Han and his very own clone to talk him into asking Mara out.

 

Somebody needs to. I have no idea why it took ten years in the profics for those two to get together.

I wish we had seen more Luke and Han friendship in the profics. Luke was always "I got to get the Jedi trained." He was way too serious. Han should have brought him out bar hopping.

I think I wrote a fanfic that dealt with that theme. LOL!

Sorry to disappoint you, but I am old school and there is no sizzling on the first date. But we will get to it.

He could have been boot knocking with Mara years earlier if he didn't get on her to train. I guarantee it. Nag, Nag, Nag.

Thanks! I'm glad you liked it.

Every time I bought a Star Wars book I would first go through it looking for Mara or Luke. And I would get excited when they had scenes together, but I was always disappointed that we never saw them date. Just that Force arranged marriage.
Thanks for being my BETA!!!

 

Luke located a small restaurant within walking distance from the hospital. It was a small Wroonian owned establishment specializing in Coruscanti and Wroona cuisine. A Twi?lek waitress seated them in a quiet corner of the eating establishment handing them two menus.

?Would you like to order drinks first?? the scantily clad blue alien asked.

Luke smiled. ?Yes a hot chocolate for me and?? he looked to Mara.

?Caf please.?

The Twi?lek left to get them their drinks. Luke sat at the table sneaking nervous glances at Mara while trying to give the impression that he was fascinated by something on the menu. This was like a first date and he was a loss for words. He desperately hoped Mara would be the one to start the conversation.

Either sensing his discomfort or disliking the awkward silence, Mara did speak first. ?So, what did you and Mark talk about??

Luke looked over his menu, his eyes locking on her deep green eyes. ?I asked him what his plans were for the future.?

Mara put down her menu. ?What did he say??

?He said he wanted to work on the Wild Karrde with you.?

Mara looked relieved as she picked up her menu again.

?He also said I was a Di?kut for not asking you out. I didn?t know ARC trooper flash-training included Mandalorian expletives.?

Mara groaned as she put down the menu. ?I knew he would say something embarrassing. I?m going to kill him.?

Luke tried to suppress a smile. ?He said you were going to kill him.?

She shook his head. ?He?s just lucky he?s already in a hospital.?

Luke laughed out loud. ?That?s also what he said.?

Mara closed her eyes in frustration. ?I guess he knows me too well.?

The drinks arrived and Luke ordered a nerfsteak and Mara a Coruscant slider.

?I?m sorry about his behavior.? Mara gazed down at her caf. ?He doesn?t censor his thoughts.?

Luke took a sip of his hot chocolate. ?I?m glad he didn?t. I should have asked you out before this. I think saving my life deserves at least a dinner?or more?in appreciation.?

"I think we both owe each other a lot.? She put a cube of sugar in her caf and slowly stirred it until dissolved. ?I didn?t realize how the last command had negatively impacted my quality of life until it was finally gone. It was like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders.? She took a sip of her drink and winced. She put another scoop of sugar into the cup. ?The caf is awful here.?

Luke was nervously fiddling with his napkin. He wasn?t quite sure if he could follow Han?s advice and be completely open with his friend. His brain told him Han was probably right about the direct approach, but Luke?s heart told him he was just going to get hurt like he always did when it came to women. But then his bad luck with woman was always because he was following his heart. Maybe it was time to listen to his brain for once when it came to these matters.

?Mara.? Luke balled up the napkin and put it on the table so he wouldn?t be tempted to twist it nervously. ?I just want to clarify something.? He took a deep breath. ?When I asked you to train with me at the Academy it wasn?t just because I thought you would make a great Jedi. I? I was trying to find a way to stay close to you. I like you and I didn?t know how to go about? I don?t know? I guess what I am trying to say is I would like to get to know you better.?

Luke was surprised when he saw Mara smile brightly and he could feel pleasure radiating off of her in the Force.

?Don?t tell me; Mark talked you into being direct.?

Luke shook his head. ?No, it was Han this time.? He looked up at her expectantly. ?Would you like to see each other again??

?Yes, I would.?

Luke had a goofy smile on his face. ?Do you think Mark will be upset? I know he encouraged me to ask you out, but he does seem a bit attached to you.?

It was an honest question and Luke hoped the answer would finally nail down what the relationship was between the two.

Mara laughed. ?Mark will be thrilled.?

This took Luke a back. ?Really? You know, for a while I thought he might be interested in you for himself.?

?No,? Mara laughed

 

This was so so funny, great way to wake-up in the morning.

I'll have to come back later to do the review this deserves, because I'm running late now.

Mark Tantiss is a very nicename

 

Luke being mesmerized - awwwww!

Han's commentary -- At least there's forward progress - very much in character for both, although -- I wouldn't complain if they became impulsive a bit LOL

Mark Tantiss -- does have a snazzy ring.

 

Proper review time:

?He also said I was a Di?kut for not asking you out. I didn?t know ARC trooper flash-training included Mandalorian expletives.?

Are they still using Jango's template for that?


?I?m sorry about his behavior.? Mara gazed down at her caf. ?He doesn?t censor his thoughts.?

Mara might not want to be the Mother-figure, but she's sure acting the part.


Loved the dinner - big step in the right direction.



?I convinced the hot looking night nurse that I needed a sponge bath.?

Oh, Gods!


?You better remember that. If you are coming to work with me and Karrde, I?ll be responsible for your behavior.?

There are those Mommy instincts again.


?Mara, I already told you I see you as a Mother-figure, even though you prefer the term sister. You have to understand I am the product of Luke?s DNA; it was his cells that created me. So technically, he?s sort of like my father.? He paused for a moment and gazed deeply into Mara?s eye. ?So to answer your question?what kid in the galaxy doesn?t want his mother and father to be together??

So true, I remember that phase well
And Luke and Mara just began dating and already that have a kid to worry about.


?And she didn?t kill you!? Han gave his brother-in-law a mock look of shock and horror. He circled around the Jedi. ?And it looks like she didn?t shoot off any important body parts.?

Oh, Han!


Luke glared at Han. ?And this is coming from the man who married my sister. Unless she wasn?t telling me the truth, I believe it took you over a year to even get as far as I did last night.?

And a point for Luke
But don't let it get to your head, Lukie-boy. In profic it took you 10 year to get there.

?That?s always good when your romantic rival turns out to be the brother of the girl.?





That we really great!!!!

 

That was a really sweet post.

I'm glad Luke and Mara aren't moving too fast. It wouldn't be in character for this point in time, with her just getting over the last command. Them moving too fast would probably cause just as many problems as not moving at all!

Mark is really funny and a delightful OC. And you write a really funny Han! I'd love to see a Luke/Han friendship fic from you. Or a H/L fic.

Han grinned. ?It?s like a Skywalker sandwich.?

I would like to order one of those. Please.

 

Luke smiled encouraged by the older man. ?We then went to her hotel room for dessert.?

Han slapped his knee. ?All right Luke!?

?I had razzleberry pie and she had cloudcake.?

I would have killed to see the look on Han's face there and then!

The clone rubbed his chin. ?Can I grow a beard??

Mara rolled her eyes. ?Mark, you don?t belong to me or Luke or anybody else. If you want to grow a mustache, mutton-chop sideburns and shave your head nobody can stop you.?

He ran his hand through his hair. ?Do you think I would look good with a shaved head??

Oh, gosh, Mara, don't give him any suggestions! He'd be the one willing to combine all three!

Mark looked a little disappointed. ?How about Skyrunner??

Leia made a face and shook her head.

?Skyjogger?? Mark joked.

Han laughed. ?How about Skyprancer??

ROFL!!!!!

 

Luke is so innocent and sweet. Mara just can't wait to corrupt that.

Ahem.

Love the bit about the Skywalker sandwich!!! And you really do write a great Han.

 

YES! SKYPRANCER! I have to keep up with this stuff. Is there a PM list?

 

Skywalker sandwich. That one made me laugh hard.

The date was so cute. I am glad they are moving slowly. Very in character for the two of them.

I can't wait to see what happens next. I'm thinking a MAKEOVER for Mark.

 

Thanks. I think Han used to be a player in his youth and probably is cheering Luke on in that frame of mind. I am pretty sure if Han could have gotten Leia in the sack right away he would have. But being a smuggler and her a princess probably put a lot of psychological road blocks up for the couple. Luke has to remind him that his marriage was based on a long friendship prior to real romance. I just can't see Mara bedding Luke right away if they think they want more than just sex. If she upfront determined that she would never ever marry...especially not a jedi...then that might be another story. Then friends with benefits might be happening quickly. But I think Mara was always intriqued by Luke as a possible mate.

I think being protective would come naturally for Mara. If you read Choices of One she tries to take care of her troops. Mara's protective quality was really the cause of her death in the profics. She wanted to protect Ben. And the dinner is a great step. Them talking to each other is a great step also. Just about anything involving them being in the same room is a great step.

I love Mark. I was having a bad day yesterday and so I started daydreaming about what I was going to have him do in the story and I actually felt a lot better. I like Han and Luke together also. If you notice in some of my more racy fics that can't be posted here it usually is Han catching Luke and Mara carrying on. Han is just so good natured when it came to Luke in the movies. He calls him kid...you can't tell me that Han doesn't see himself as Luke's big brother.

I think Han just wants to push things forward because he knows Luke is interested, but if Luke doesn't have some guidance he probably would drag his feet until the girl finds someone else or is dead (like so many of his previous girlfriends).

You know, there are a couple ways of thinking about Mara. Either she is a virgin (or limited sexual experience) or she used sex as a tool of her job to get close to targets and is very experienced. I would like to think she was the former. After all, Luke learned all about her during their Force bonding while fighting those droids. I would think if she has 50 sexual partners Luke would have been a little freaked out (I should write a viggie about that). I mean he is jealous about the possibility of Lando and Mara. What would he have done if he discovered she bedded all types of men--some of various species? I like to believe she wasn't using sex to set up a kill. So I think they are equally corrupting themselves.

Thanks! I will PM you when I get a new update.

And you would have thought right! I will even throw something special in for the fangirls. LOL! I wonder if I sent my beta the next chapter. Yesterday I was so upset at work I thought I was going to puke. I had to daydream about Luke/Mara bootknocking for hours before I recovered.

 

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It didn?t take long to hammer out the remaining details of Mark?s life. He was from Alderaan, he had no siblings and he worked for a personal security company.

Leia smiled. ?Well, that was easier than any meeting in the Senate I?ve attended.? She pulled out a flimsi with directions written on it. ?This is the name to a leading stylist in the area. He is very discrete. He works with all types of high profile people and he?s the man we go to when our intel people need disguises.? She handed the note to Mara. ?There?s a contact number. Just give him a few hours advanced notice and he will be ready to change Mark?s appearance.?

Mara took the flimsi. ?Thank you.? She turned to Mark. ?You ready for your transformation??

He stood up. ?As ready as I?ll ever be.?

?Before you leave, do you know where are you staying tonight?? Luke asked.

Mara thought about it. ?I guess we can get a hotel or stay in the shuttle.?

?You?ll do no such thing,? Leia spoke up. ?We have two guest rooms. You can stay with us.?

Mara glanced at Mark who just shrugged his shoulders. ?If it wouldn?t be too much of a bother.?

?No bother at all. As long as you can stand being around two newborns.?

Mara blanched slightly and looked like she was going to change her mind, but instead smiled. ?I appreciate it, Leia, Han. Thank you.? She stood. ?I?ll give the stylist a call and in the meantime we need to get Mark new clothes.? She turned to the clone. ?You can?t wear a borrowed flight suit all the time.?

Luke looked like he wanted to join them, but said nothing. Everybody knew that until Mark changed his appearance the two couldn?t be seen together.

They said their goodbyes and left the apartment.

As they walked down the hallway to the lift Mara called the stylist and made an appointment for two hours from then.

She then turned to Mark and smiled. ?Let?s go shopping.?
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They stopped at a popular shop called the Men?s Outfitter. While there Mara picked out a number of casual, dress and work outfits for her friend since he appeared to have no sense of style. Mark would pick a shirt, hold it to his body and ask Mara what she thought. Most of the time she cringed and vetoed his selection.

?I?ve noticed that you don?t like to see me in black clothing.? Mark commented. ?I thought you would like it since Luke wears it all the time.?

She shook her head slightly. ?I hate him in black, but to tell him that would mean admitting I?m looking at him.?

?I see,? Mark nodded. ?So you?re just waiting for the day when you can see him out of his black clothing??

?Yes,? Mara replied offhandedly and then realized what he said. ?Stop that, Mark.?

He snickered. ?You are just so easy to get riled up.?

She glared at him, but there was no longer any fire behind her eyes. ?You need shoes, socks and underwear.?

Getting the shoes turned out to be no problem since he had an average shoe size, but when they went to the underwear department Mara knew she was going to have trouble with him.

That mischievous look in his eyes came back as he gazed down the corridor. ?This place has everything,? he said with a grin. He walked down the aisle announcing the various styles. ?Sheer mesh thong, male enhancement bikini, leather jock strap, briefs, boxers, Flirt Boxer with butt lifter pouch?? He gave Mara a puzzled look. ?What?s that??

Her cheeks reddened. ?Something you don?t need.? She walked down the aisle and picked out a couple packages of underwear. ?These are boxer-briefs. Believe me when I tell you?women like boxer briefs. You don?t wear leather underwear unless you are trying to attract women in a swoop gang ?or other men.?

He took the proffered packages. ?So you like these??

?Believe me, they?ll look good.?

?Then I?m going to get a couple more packages,? he said as he grabbed more off the shelf. ?I don?t want to have to do laundry every other day.?

Mara shrugged her shoulders. ?Knock yourself out.? She looked at her chrono. ?We better pay up and get over to the stylist.?

They finished their shopping and then caught a taxi to the a