"Let's Just Be Friends?"

by : Marajihad a.k.a Elizabeth M.

Luke was getting anxious. The presence of Mara Jade could be a bit unnerving.
Even for a Jedi Master. As Luke often joked to himself, her soul should be seen
from a safe distance. If you got to close, her inner light would blind you. That
and she would snap at you for getting too close. Luke glanced down at his
chronometer. She should have been here half an hour ago.... Wait just a minute.
Was that worry coming over him? About Mara? He let out a small chuckle and
reminded himself that Mara had grown up on Coruscant and even in the
unlikelyhood of danger, she could most definitely fend for herself. He stepped
away from the window that looked down on the miles and miles of city above,
below, and straight ahead to the horizon that was the former Imperial capital.
Walking the short distance to the sofa, he realized for the umpteenth time how
drab his apartment here was. Nothing but a few old holos of the twins with Han
and Leia, and in the corner a dusty frame containing his last memory
of Callista. Her hair looked surprisingly well kept considering the humidity of
Yavin and her gray eyes revealed nothing but the love she had sworn she had for
Luke. He sat down and waited in the dim room for Mara.

Why was she so nervous about seeing Skywalker? Last time she'd seen him had been
on her last visit to the academy. What a waste of time that trip was. All she'd
gotten out of it was a short conversation with Luke and a bad meal with Callista
giving her the third degree. Mara took one last look at herself in the mirror,
brushed away a few stray hairs, and dimmed the lights. Being back on Coruscant
always felt like a homecoming, but it was like the kind of homecoming you'd
expect if no one realized you were back. Stepping out of the bathroom into what
would be her bedroom for the next week, Mara grabbed her jacket off the bed and
made her way for the door. This wasn't the nicest suite she'd stayed in, but it
was just fine by her. Triggering the door, she took one last look around for
anything forgotten, sighed, stepped out and the door closed behind her. She was
happy they were self- locking with voice activated entry. She hated keeping up
with codes. Glancing down at her chronometer
in the turbolift, she realized she was going to be about twenty minutes late.
Her old self chimmed in with a sarcastic " Musn't keep his Jediness waiting..."
mumbled under her breath, but secretly in her heart of hearts, she was glad to
be seeing him.

A buzzing sound shook Luke from his light nap. The sun was just about gone and
the glow of Coruscant at night gave a strange lonliness to Luke's sparse
apartment. His chronometer indicated that she was a full hour late. Luke got up
and brushed off the rumples of sleep in his clothes, then did the same with his
hair." Well...go answer the door, Luke.", he thought to himself. He didn't need
to wonder who was on the other side, but even though he knew, he was still
surprised to see Mara standing there with a warm smile on her face. Her eyes
seemed more brilliant every time he saw her and her hair was pulled back,
loosely, with only a few reddish strands framing the sides of her face.

" Are you gonna let me in, Skywalker, or just stare all night?"

" Well, if you hadn't been an hour late, there might be a moment for you to step
into my dungeon, but we have to hurry, seeing as how our reservation is for
8:00."

He could be damned good at giving her a dose of her own medicine. The
playfulness of his tone relieved any fears of tension for not only Mara, but
Luke too.

" I'm only about twenty-five minutes late. You told me to be here at 7:30."

"Well it's 7:45, so even if I did tell you that, which I doubt, you're still
late."

Mara just rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Fine...lead the way."

"Wait here."

Luke hurried back to his bedroom and got the jacket he had layed out on his bed,
then hurried back to where Mara waited just outside his open doorway. She always
managed to look stunning in even the simplest clothes. There was something Luke
found attractive about her capable looking jumpsuit.

"You look well, Mara."

Luke said as he crossed the room. He stopped in front of her and looked into her
eyes with all sincerity, then embraced her. Mara was taken a bit off guard, but
returned the hug soon enough.

"You look well, too, Skywalker. Glad to see it."

Mara's sincerity went straight to Luke's heart and he smiled his shy, farmboy
smile. He stepped out of his apartment, smile still lingering on face and typed
in the lock code on his doorway panel. While Luke locked up, Mara leaned on the
wall next to him and all the nervous feelings drifted out of her. He seemed to
have forgotten the code exactly, because he tried several numbers in several
different sequences. Mara smiled to herself at this rare glimpse of the famous
Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, destroyer of the first Death Star, Rebel Alliance
hero, and all around legend of the galaxy having trouble remembering lock codes.
Moments later, the door confirmed that it was locked.

"Ready?" Luke questioned.

"As I'll ever be." Mara answered.

to be continued...

" To see a World in a Grain of Sand

And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand

And Eternity in an hour."

- William Blake