Beyond - Legends "Unintended" (Luke/Mara)

Title: Unintended
Rating: G
Characters: Luke/Mara
Genre: Angst/Romance
Summary: I?ll be there as soon as I can ? but I?m busy mending broken pieces of the life I had before.
A/N: Written for the SJRS Song Challenge. The Song is Unintended, by Muse.

---

[i]
You could be my unintended
Choice to live my life extended
You could be the one I?ll always love

You could be the one who listens
To my deepest inquisitions
You could be the one I?ll always love

I?ll be there as soon as I can
But I?m busy mending broken
Pieces of the life I had before[/i]


[hr]




When they first met, neither of them had been ready. She had spent her nights dreaming of his death at her hands, but had never honestly believed that she would get the chance. And then he and his X-wing had dropped into her lap - just when she had gotten her life back together and the very moment she needed him to keep his.


He had lost every woman he had ever tried to love, had sacrificed them for the sake of his Jedi cause. For years he had immersed himself in his work, scouring the galaxy for the barest traces of history, anything that would help him rebuild the Jedi order. He hadn?t expected, or really even wanted for her to find him.


They had nothing in common on the surface, except the fact that neither of them could handle close intimacy, not at that stage of their lives.


He had given up on love ? she just didn?t believe in it.



***



The first time she opened up to him was in hyperspace on the way to Wayland. It was the middle of the night and something ? most likely his ever-ravenous stomach - had urged him to go to the mess. She had been there, sitting at the table in her sleep-clothes; her hands tightly gripping a cup of caf. She had ignored him as he fixed himself something to eat, even as he tried to make polite conversation. Her pale face and dark shadows that clung to her eyes did not escape his attention but he ignored it, because every pore of her was pleading with him to do so. He talked, and she presented not to listen, every sentence made her grip her cup a bit tighter, made her shoulders tighten a bit further.


Eventually she spoke. ?Not the silent type then, Skywalker??


It had taken him a moment to reflect. ?I am actually,? he had answered. ?Most of the time.? When he was younger he hadn?t been able to stop talking. Where he?d been, who he?d been with, anything to fill the silence of the desert, until his uncle had growled at him to for once be quiet and his aunt had laid a reassuring, but silencing, hand on his arm. But as the years had passed and his life had become fuller, Luke found that he had less to say.


?So what is it about me that makes you babble like a gnea-hen??


?I suppose you seemed like you needed distracting.? He didn?t dare look at her, and had instead gazed into his own cup, sensing her surprise and unease.


?I don?t need anything from you.?


**********


It had been after he had given her his father?s lightsaber that she?d told him about the dreams. Horrible, vivid nightmares where she relived her master?s death through false eyes, had received commanding, splintering orders from beyond the grave. She had almost cried, and he had almost reached out to take her hand. But she couldn?t bear to be touched in any way and though he would have been more than willing to be that soft place for her to fall, she needed to be independent, truly alone in her own mind for the first time.


Their next meeting of any consequence happened after Byss, and while by then she had begun to exorcise her own demons, she saw that he had obtained some new ones.


?You look like hell, Skywalker,? she said unkindly, after he had found her in one of Coruscant?s libraries.


?I feel it.? He was pale, dark circles hanging under his eyes, and his tone was raw, defeated, almost. But h

 

Wow That was amazing. beautiful!

Dana

 

aaaaaaaaaaaa, you posted!

Great to have you back on the boards, gal! And I loved it, very much. Very no-nonsense and perfectly L/M. I like how you did a progression of their relationship, and I think my favorite scene was in the bar after Callista left. Excellent!!

 

Yes! Wonderful, girl!!! Great response to the challenge, as well.

Bravo!

 

YAY! A JadeLotus story!!!

This was lyrical and lovely. I like how you credit Callista for proving to Luke that he was loveable, and how that relationship prepared Luke for the love he would share with Mara. That's a nice way to look at it.

It was after the near-disaster of Corellia, and they had been talking about nothing in particular, small talk, really. He?d asked her about her trading business, she?d asked him about his adventures with Lando. She wasn?t quite sure how she knew it was love ? she just didn?t want to stop talking to him.

For some reason, to me, that scene is so sweet. I can picture her listening to him talk, hiding her feelings, but not stopping him either.

 

Very nice look at their weird and wonderful journey. I really like the sense that each had their own issues to overcome before they could reach that place where they could be there for each other in the fullest sense. Also liked the way you used something as simple as conversation to show the affection between them - that Luke's chatting away and driving Mara crazy on the journey to Wayland, and then later, how she's reflecting that she enjoys talking to him and it leads to the realisation about her feelings. And that last part is wonderful - perfectly in character, and beautifully phrased.

 

Wonderful. Splendid look at their relationship through Mara's eyes. You still have her pegged to a gorgeous spot on T. OK, LOL that's how I'll look at his relationship with Callista as prelims to the superfine main event. I, as always, adore the voice you give Mara--sharp with wit, brutal with honesty, with more than a touch of vulnerability. Mega-huggles!!! You have been missed but I'm stoked you're back!

 

First off: Yay for a JadeLotus story!

Second: I don't have much to say that everyone else has already said. However, I agree that I love the simplicity and quirky-ness of this story. I can imagine these random moments occuring during Luke/Mara's rocky and fickle relationship. Sometimes it's those odd encounters that really mean the most

Nice job

 

that was fanTAStic! You really got them spot on, I love how clean and emotional it was while still keeping them in character. Very sweet, very nice

 

He had given up on love ? she just didn?t believe in it.

That line describes them so well, and I love how you showed how they progressed from that to love.

Wonderful, lovely story, and what a perfect song to go with it.

 

*melts* That was wonderful!

She shifted slightly, and looked uncomfortable. ?I suppose...I?d just been keeping those thoughts to myself for so long.?
?Until I was ready to hear it.? He nodded, understanding. ?But why now?? he asked her. ?What?s changed??

 

Wonderful.