Title:Comfort
Author: kimara
Pairing: Luke/?
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Everyone belongs to the mighty Lucas and company. I am just borrowing from his characters to allow them a bit of fun. No harm intended and no money is being made.

He stood against the wall just to the side of the doorway and looked into the crowded room. The normal air of camaraderie was subdued by the events of the past two days. It seemed as if the ongoing fight was become more futile as each day passed. The heady feelings of victory that the destruction of the Death Star had imbued into them six months before had drained away quickly in the light of their recent setbacks. At least those deaths had served some purpose. But this latest loss--three X-wing and three A-wing pilots plus the crew of twenty on the supply transport that had been vaporized by the Imperial Star Destroyer weighed heavily on everyone's hearts.

At times like this, he missed the bare comforts of his boring life on Tatooine. The ache from the pain of Owen and Beru's deaths at the hands of the Empire, Obi-Wan's death at the hand of Vader and Biggs' sacrifice during the Death Star run were almost more than he could bear. Clutching the grip of the lightsaber that promised that his destiny would see much more pain before it ever saw contentment, he made himself a vow. Before this night was over, he would allow himself to bask in the joy of the most intimate possible sharing between two beings. Unless the Empire brought their newest hiding place down around their ears in the next ten hours, Luke Skywalker would no longer be a virgin when morning dawned.

Blue eyes sparkled as Luke narrowed his gaze to the back corner of the room. Standing there among the group of pilots and techs was the object of his affections. He watched as the assorted beings talked softly and attempted to comfort the two most distraught members of the group. One was an A-wing pilot named Quentin, whose wife had been on the fatal transport. The other was a sixteen-year-old whose name Luke couldn't seem to recall, who had come to the Rebellion with his older brother after the rest of his family was killed. Now the young man was an orphan, the last remnant of his family blown from the sky by an Imperial gunner. He watched as his friend--if that was the proper name for someone you intended to be intimate with--wrapped a warm arm around the young man's shoulder and comforted him. Caring and comfort was being directed flawlessly in soft tones and warm gestures and it warmed his heart to watch. The personal grief of losing a squadron mate was pushed aside to comfort the person whose pain was more piercing.

His eyes never leaving the scene across the room, Luke walked to the worn slab of plasteen that served as a makeshift bar and grasped a glass of Corellian ale. Leaning against the wall just past the bar, he examined his feelings as he sipped slowly and continued to watch. His feelings had grown slowly, born from small comforts and infrequent moments of shared laughter during these miserable times. During a few of their more relaxed moments, they had shared the preludes of intimacy, kissing and caressing, sometimes slowly but many times with more hunger then he was willing to face. At those moments when things were almost to that irrevocable point, Luke had always been the one to pull back. Unsure of whether their friendship could survive hurdling this last barrier into full intimacy, he had stepped away. Sad brown eyes had always looked back at him with such need at those moments that the panic had almost overwhelmed him. Examining his feelings more thoroughly, he could now see that he had bolted not only out of fear of jeopardizing their friendship but as much out of fear of sharing himself that intimately with another person.

Pulling back from his thoughts, he swallowed another mouthful of the foamy golden liquid and observed the scene across the room beginning to change. The warm arm around the teenager's shoulders was directing him towards the door. Luke followed silently, remaining just beyond their line of vision so as not to disrupt the small measure of comfort that surrounded the young man. He stood leaning against a tree, as the boy was led into a section of barracks. He could almost visualize the supportive arm and hear the comforting voice as the boy was guided through the door of his quarters. He waited patiently knowing it may be quite a while before the comforter felt the young man had quieted enough to be left alone.

Luke extended his fledgling senses to stay attuned to his friend, then closed his eyes and again pondered his feelings. He knew that his attentions were desired and was relatively certain that his friend was not totally inexperienced in the ways of the flesh. Considering that fact, he understood that all it would take would be one word about his lack of intimate knowledge and the burden of directing the encounter would be taken fully from him. Maybe that was what they both needed - to forget all the pain that surrounded them as they lost themselves totally in the bliss of union. He pushed back the tingle of fear at his innocence in this matter, knowing that he would be led along this path no further than he was consciously willing to go.

The sound of the door across from him opening pulled Luke back from his thoughts. A surge of emotion ran through him as he heard the painful sigh and watching shaking fingers push tangled brown locks out of shining eyes. Steeling his resolve in the rightness of his decision, he moved quickly to the side of the moving form. He felt the jump of surprise as he rested a hand on the slumped shoulder. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," he said softly. "I though you might want some company." Sable brown eyes looked at him longingly and he could feel the struggle going on behind them. The offer of comfort was more than welcome but those eyes vibrated with a need that more than platonic comfort was desired.

"I would like...." the voice began but faded away as emotion rose within.

Luke stopped and moved so that he stood directly before the trembling body. He tilted the quivering chin until his deep blue eyes locked with pain filled brown ones. "I'm tired of running from my feelings. The events of the past few days have been a painful reminder that time could be very short." He stroked his fingertips down a soft cheek before sliding them to opening lips to stop the words. "Let me finish, please. I want to be with you, to lose ourselves in each other until we have pushed the pain from our hearts. I think you want that too and neither of us knows if tonight may be the last night we have that opportunity. Unless your feelings have changed, spend the night with me."

Luke felt fingertips caress his cheek before the hand slid around his neck and pulled him forward. Soft lips covered his and soon a questing tongue was exploring the warmth of his mouth. He moved his tongue to caress the other, stroking and thrusting in a mime of what would hopefully be occurring later. When he finally pulled back, they were both flushed and breathing heavily. "My quarters?" he asked without breaking contact with those darkened brown orbs.

"At least you have private quarters," the chuckling voice replied.

Knowing the humor was being used to dissipate the rising current of emotions, Luke played into it. "Well, being a hero of the Rebellion has to have at least one perk." Blue eyes shone with mischief as he continued. "One day when you've become a Commander or even a General, you'll have perks of your own." The hand behind his neck moved upwards and entangled into his mass of unruly blond hair. He felt a firm tug as laughter erupted in those brown eyes.

"Yeah, right. As if I'll ever be a General." A supple arm tugged Luke forward. "I think we have better things to do right now, Commander, than discuss the merits of rank."

Luke laughed as he was pulled along. "Yes, we do, Wedge. Yes we do."

The end.

Author's note: This is dedicated to a couple of people, who for their own safety will remain nameless--you know who you are--who now know that daring me to do something can be a very dangerous thing.