Beyond - Legends "Would You Cut That Out!" ~ Luke/Mara MMM 'conflict' Challenge

Title: Would You Cut That Out!
Timeframe: Shortly post-?Union?
Characters: Luke/Mara
Genre: Romance, humor

Note: Written for the Monday Mush Mania VII ?inter-personal conflict? challenge Thanks to divapilot for the beta

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Mara smiled to herself as she watched her newly wedded husband sip a cup of caf at the counter. The sun had barely stretched over the horizon and it was still too early for words, but she was comfortable with the silence between them. After returning from their honeymoon mere days ago, she had come to realize that tranquil time together was just as valuable as fighting side by side in battle and engaged in passionate embraces. Luke?s hair was still messy from fingers run through them and a few abnormally long strands fell into his eyes as he glanced through the news. She fought back a smile, and then chided herself for being a sap.

A sip of her own caf further enhanced her positive feeling about the morning, though there was little a cup of stimulating drink [i]couldn?t[/i] do to improve her mood. The mug was warm against her chilly hands. [i]Maybe I?ll get Luke to warm me up more later[/i], she grinned wickedly, taking another slow sip.

Luke began to tap absentmindedly on the countertop as he read, fingernails making a repetitive clicking sound. Unaware of his fidgeting, Luke continued to tap at a more rapid pace, scrolling through the news and humming a made-up tune good-naturedly.

A rather intriguing account caught Mara?s eye as she glanced at the flimsy in front of her, a mission summary for the two of them. ?[i]The Eriadu system [b]tap[/b] is well known for its abundant[b] tap[/b] supply of environmental resources and [b]tap[/b] varied species, the effects of these resources tap impact trade routes as far out[b] tap[/b] as the Corellian sector[b] tap[/b]?[/i] ? Mara stopped reading and closed her eyes. There it was again. [i]Tap tap. [/i]

For the most part, she ignored it. She pulled up the piece of flimsi closer to her face pointedly. Her eyes narrowed, trying to concentrate on the words in front of her, but found all she could focus on was the tapping?

She glanced up, wondering if Luke realized just how irritating that noise was. Apparently not. Noticing her less than friendly gaze, he looked up and flashed her an innocent farmboy smile. Mara forced a smile on her face in reply and looked back at the document in front of her.

[i]Tap, tap, tap?[/i]

The finger tapping, the humming, it was all too much. ?Would you cut that out!? she barked out before she could stop herself.

Luke stopped, his face falling in bewildered surprise. ?What??

?Could you stop that? [i]tapping.[/i]?

He glanced down at his hands, as if not believing he could have done such a thing. ?Sure Mara.? He replaced his fingers unmoving on the table, lips sealed shut. A bit startled by her outburst, Mara turned back to the flimsy in front of her. Well it had been annoying?Luke would have done the same if she were the one tapping incessantly at this hour in the morning, right?


~*~


Noontime arrived, and Luke found himself staring blankly at a list of reports on the screen in front of him. Through the window to his left he could hear the busy bustle of rushing speeders and the whistle of the wind against the buildings. The air was crisp and the sun bright, it seemed to be calling his name, begging Luke Skywalker to forget his work and take a leisurely walk.

[i]I have to focus[/i], he thought, attempting to focus his tired eyes on the endless statistics.

The comlink chirped and Mara answered it within the second. Her casual tone of voice told Luke that the call was not for him, and he turned back to his papers once again.

Minutes later, he still could not remember a single word he read.

Mara?s melodious voice seemed to fill the apartment as she chatted with the other person. At first it seemed as though she was merely breaking the silence, hence why it seemed so loud? but

 

Sweet and fun!!! Of course!!!!

Huggles!!!!!

 

Perfect mush!

Dearest Mara,

I?m sorry for upsetting you last night, and all that I did yesterday. I know that after a lifetime of solitude and trusting only yourself that living with someone else and sharing everything with someone else is hard. I know it?s an adjustment for me, too.

Don?t be mad, and save some caf for me. If you can compromise, so can I. We?ll work out this marriage thing out together, one annoyance at a time.

Luke.

A shamefully sentimental smile spread across Mara?s features. A twinge of guilt passed through her as she remembered the petty quarrels of yesterday. He was right, marriage was definitely going to be trying. But she was up for the challenge.

She started to place the flimsy back on the table when she realized what the oddly shaped missing piece was?a heart. Below his name was a simple message.

PS. I cut it out.

A laugh fell from her lips as she realized the double meaning. Curse farmboy and his sentimentality, she thought wryly, blinking away uncharacteristic tears. She placed the card down on the counter and reached up to the cabinet to bring down the second mug. Somehow, her morning felt just a little bit brighter already.

 

Awww.... YAY! That was so sweet and wonderful Myriad!! I loved it!!

Though I did have a moment in the beginning I was really worried. I though Mara was going to renew her vow to kill him à la The Cell Block Tango. "If you tap your fingers one more time..."



Amazing job girl!!

 

That was wonderful! i absolutely loved it. awesome job!

Dana

 

Nice piece of writing! I can imagine Mara, having lived on her own for so long, would have a hard time adjusting to life with another person. I like the way you handled it.

 

Dearest Mara,

I?m sorry for upsetting you last night, and all that I did yesterday. I know that after a lifetime of solitude and trusting only yourself that living with someone else and sharing everything with someone else is hard. I know it?s an adjustment for me, too.

Don?t be mad, and save some caf for me. If you can compromise, so can I. We?ll work out this marriage thing out together, one annoyance at a time.

Luke.

A shamefully sentimental smile spread across Mara?s features. A twinge of guilt passed through her as she remembered the petty quarrels of yesterday. He was right, marriage was definitely going to be trying. But she was up for the challenge.

She started to place the flimsy back on the table when she realized what the oddly shaped missing piece was?a heart. Below his name was a simple message.

PS. I cut it out.
Awwwwwww, Luke!!! Oh Myriad this was such a wonderful story and that was an AWESOME way to end it! So cute!!! Loved the whole thing! Fabulous response to the challenge- I loved it!! SQUGGLES!!


EDIT: nit picky me. I put too many commas in a sentence.

 

This was such a wonderful story and so perfectly L/M. The end totally brought a huge smile to my face

 

Lovely story -- getting used to another person in "your" space is a hard thing. Those little things you do without even realizing it can make someone else batty.

I like the little details you used to show, not tell, how they feel. That's good writing, my friend.



And this part...


Don?t be mad, and save some caf for me. If you can compromise, so can I. We?ll work out this marriage thing out together, one annoyance at a time.

Luke.

...reminds me of another note that went between the two of them.

Nice job, Myriad!

 

*dies happy*

Augh myriad!!!! That was so amazingly and wonderfully sweet it gave me the SQUGGLES!!!!!!!! Definitely realistic too, stellar job!

Love you so much! Awesome response to the challenge and a wonderful viggie!!!!

Huggles,
Irish

 

This is wonderful - perfect Monday mush! Those little annoyances would be hard to deal with (I can't stand tapping either).

He had been sitting in the exact same spot, staring at the exact same documents, for hours now. In the time that Luke had seemingly accomplished nothing, Mara had scanned through five mission assessments, scheduled three meetings for tomorrow and another four for the rest of the week, made a second pot of caf, flipped through all the holo channels, and even finished a holonovel she?d been reading for months.

Luke had not moved. His head was propped up by the palm of his left hand, and his right hand doodled idly on the flimsy in front of him.

I love this contrast between them!

 

Lovely! I can just see Mara yelling at Luke for tapping his fingers and I can sympathize! That is the most annoying thing ever!

 

I feel for Mara here...tapping is totally annoying. And I can imagine how hard it would be to adjust to living so closely with someone.

She started to place the flimsy back on the table when she realized what the oddly shaped missing piece was?a heart. Below his name was a simple message.

PS. I cut it out.

A laugh fell from her lips as she realized the double meaning. Curse farmboy and his sentimentality, she thought wryly, blinking away uncharacteristic tears.

Awwwww.

Loved this!

 

That was great interaction not just between the greatest Star Wars couple (yes, I said it-and I am male!), but also between just about every married couple from Coruscant to Timbuktu.

The focus on the small things that can annoy at first is secondary to the compromise to tolerate those same small things.

Yeah, I thought at first Mara was going to ignore the fight as well as Luke. That would have spelled doom for the couple to not talk about it. Though I wish you could have included something involving their Force bond. They could use it to their advantage in times like this. Then again, maybe they ignored it for fear of knowing what the other thinks.

Ok, that's enough Dark stuff.

Wonderful positive ending.

 

Aw, love it, Myriad!! I love how you captured the conflicts that often arise between couples (Yes, even L/M!). Ver realistic, yet sweet too. How can they not be? Heh heh. Wonderful job, girl!

~Dana

 

I liked all of it, right down to the little things that set her off, and Luke's way of resolving it. "I cut it out." *giggle*


Well done.

 

Uh-oh. Guess I better start learning to break the habit now while I still have time.

Great stuff, Myriad. Loved it.

 

the part where Luke cut out the shape of a heart was adorable!

 

I love quirk! (but not as much as angst...in that we are quite alone!) Great challenge response. I had a big grin on my face through out the entire piece.

Bravo!

 

AWWW So sweet. Perfect mix of mush, hilarity, and realism. I loved the cut out heart, sounded exactly like something Luke would do. Very clever. Loved it.