..............................
The Strong Gender
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Rating: PG
Protagonists: Luke/Han (NO SLASH)
Category: Humour

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"Do you really have to go, Mara? I mean, it's not as if you've ever been
THAT keen on attending any Senate session, you know, and I would really feel
better if you stayed."

Mara Jade Skywalker sighed and gazed over at her husband who gave her one of
his best, innocent stares, regarding her from his vantage point on the bed.
Annoyed, she shook her head, snorting while she shut off the datapad she had
been working on and put it into a pouch of her robe.

"Luke, you'll have a headache whether I'm here or not. Besides, it's not as
if you're going to be alone all afternoon."

Now it was her husband's place to snort. With an expression of extreme
suffering, he plopped back into his pillows. "When I said I wanted company,
I didn't have Han in mind. He is so... so..."

"Yes?"

"So exhausting. And in my condition, I need calm and relaxation, you know."

Mara laughed, fishing Luke's robes out of his drawer and approaching the
bed. Tossing the clothes into his arms, she directed her steps towards the
door. "Dress and that quickly. I have an appointment and I promised Leia
we'd be on time."

Sudden hope filled the big blue eyes of the Jedi Master as he struggled to
sit up - groaning and making an effort to show her how terribly stiff he
felt.

"Leia'll be there, too?"

"Yes. We're going to go to the meeting together. She has offered to help me
present my propositions to the Senators."

"Oh." Luke mumbled, clearly disappointed.

Mara shook her head, not able to decide whether to be angry or amused by her
husband's behaviour. Smiling softly, careful not to let her dear flyboy get
a view of her face, she thought back to this very morning and how she had
woken up to find Luke ill.

*~~

In a way, it had been the most amusing sight Mara had ever had that early in
the morning. Although she was of course worried about her beloved to an
appropriate amount, she couldn't deny that the fact that he had caught a
severe cold felt like justice to her.

After all, she had warned him a thousand times to assist Han in the repairs
on the sensor dish of the Millenium Falcon. Because of the necessity of a
huge crane to hoist the old dish down and the new one up onto the corellian
freighter, the ship had had to be moved to an outside landing pad.

Of course the ex-Emperor's Hand hadn't expected Han Solo to care about the
fact that it was mid-winter on Coruscant and that rain, storms and icy cold
temperatures accompanied this season. Sometimes, she thought he was as much
in love with his rusty bucket of bolds as he was with his wife, Leia Organa
Solo.
What she hadn't counted on was that her own husband would be so stupid as to
actually agree to help his friend when there was such a weather going on.

As far as she knew, Chewbacca - Han's Wookiee friend - had repeatedly tried
to talk the humans into stopping the work and finishing it at some other,
more convenient time. The large alien was well equipped to stand this kind
of small natural disaster that was one of Coruscant's rainstorms.

The men hadn't listened - of course.

"Mara, I've never been ill. Not in all my life. And it's just a little bit
of rain."

That's what he had said before he had headed out. Mara had just shaken her
head, glaring at him darkly, inwardly cursing his foolishness. Under normal
circumstances, she understood his love of tinkering and working on ships
very well, enjoying it at times herself. But this was just overdoing it.

At times, she had the feeling this man had no common sense and it angered
her when he got away with it. It just spurred him on to do even more insane
things.

When she had awoken this morning, tentative, feeble sun rays peeking into
their bedroom, trying to break through the ever-present layer of greyish
clouds that covered the sky of the city planet, it had taken her a couple of
seconds to identify the strange noise coming from beside her.

"Luke?"

She hadn't got an answer to her quarry. Thus, she had turned right in time
to see his body convulse in accordance to another one of those strange
noises.
Suspicious, she had robbed closer to his warm body, prying the blankets away
from his face. Over the night, he had drawn them up close to his chin and,
as he had robbed deeper under them while he slept, had managed to almost
bury himself.

"Skywalker?"

With a groan, he turned onto his back, his eyes blinking tiredly at her.

"Morning, Mara. You slept we...." Before he could finish his question, her
husband exploded into a sneeze, hurriedly covering his nose with the edge of
the blanket.

At the time he had recovered from this action and refocused on his wife, a
clearly amused smile was tugging at the corner of her mouth.

"I told you your idea was rubbish. But no, of course you wouldn't listen to
me. You never listen to me." She drawled sweetly, the smile turning into a
grin when his immediate rebuke was prevented by another sneeze.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He finally got out, trying to
sound dignified, but somehow he had the feeling it didn't work that well.
His voice sounded strange to his own ears, which he felt were not working
properly anyway.

"I'm talking about your insane decision to go out help Han in this
Sith-forsaken weather and the cold you have caught because of it." His
wife's tone had a merciless edge to it while she rose from the bed and
started to round it.

"I do NOT have a cold."

"No?"

"No. I'm feeling quite fine." Luke insisted, pushing himself up, intending
to stand up and go to the bathroom. Surely a hot shower would make him feel
a lot better. Halfway through the movement, a very unwelcome feeling of
nausea let him reconsider and with a small, stifled cough-sneeze, he sank
back onto the mattress.

He heard Mara roam around in her drawer and imagined how she selected her
wardrobe for the day. Suddenly, though he really didn't care to admit it
aloud, he felt terrible. Every bone in his body ached and his head felt like
the sensor dish they had been working on the previous day had dropped on it.
Belatedly, he realised that his nose was absolutely unfit to filter air
through to his lungs - thus the curious sound of his voice, he mused. He was
hot, he felt sick and he was tired...

"Mara?"

"Yes?"

"I feel terrible."

Jade-green orbs met his gaze, elegant eyebrows quirked. "Is that so? Could
it be that, for once, it would have been wise to listen to me?"
Another sneeze prevented him from answering in words, but he nodded, sending
her a gaze he hoped would trigger her pity.

Mara laughed, then came over to him, sitting down next to him and laying her
right hand onto his forehead. For the first time this morning, he saw her
actually frown.

"You've worked up a fever."

"I've never been ill." Was all he commented, his voice testimony to his
surprise.

"Well, there's a first time for everything, love. It's best you stay in bed.
If it's not gone till tomorrow, we're going to call Cilghal."

The Jedi Master made a face: "Cilghal?"

His redheaded wife sent him a sarcastic snicker: "Well, I can call for
someone else, too, but I doubt they're going to be able to help you better
than she can."

Luke lay back, looking incredibly small among the thick blankets and pillows
and frowned. "I know, it's just.... Can't we do this a little more... umm....
Behind the scenes??"

The second time this day, Mara erupted into genuine laughter. Smacking a
kiss onto his dry, hot lips, she rose and went over to the door: "Your
humour seems to improve with fever."

The Jedi scowled: "Very funny, my dear, very funny. You just wait until I've
had breakfast and a small shower and..."

"You'll have none of those. Stay in bed and I'll bring you something to eat
and some tea.."

"I could get used to that."

"And some cough medicine."

Although she couldn't actually see it, Mara knew exactly how Luke's nose
would wrinkle at that and how an expression of disgust would invade his
boyish features. By nature, she was of course worried about him, but at the
same time, she knew that it was nothing serious.

While she heated some water for the tea, she keyed in Leia's number, having
a hunch that a certain corellian ex-smuggler wouldn't feel much better than
his brother-in-law and having in mind to arrange something for this
afternoon that would teach them both some sort of lesson.

*~~

"Leia, I really think you should cancel this Senate meeting and stay with
me. After all, I'm your husband! Am I not more important to you than some of
these... these... fish heads?"

"Grethis are NO fish heads. They're related to birds, in fact." Princess
Leia Organa Solo, currently Chief-of-State of the New Republic, turned away
from Han to hide the grin that threatened to overcome her stern composure,
occupying herself with flicking a little bit of dust from the small glass
table next to the armchair.

"Well, I should be more important to you than some birds, too!" The dark,
rough voice of her Corellian sounded clearly annoyed and she knew that, as
soon as she turned around, a pout would greet her, destined to break her
determination and make her cradle him into her arms in pity.

But not this time. Not if it was his fault, and his alone, that he lay
there, suffering from a cold that was surely very uncomfortable and painful
for him. She HAD tried to talk him out of the repairs on the sensor dish.
But he hadn't listened. No, he had even dragged her brother with him. And
now Luke was struck with a cold, too.

Not that he didn't deserve it. Of course Han had talked him into doing that,
but her brother was no little boy anymore. He should have had the common
sense to refuse. At least when he had seen water pouring down the sky
outside his window.

But no, he hadn't. Men and their ships.

When Mara had called this very morning and had told her about her brother's
illness, she and her sister-in-law had immediately decided that an afternoon
spent in the company of each other - in the UNNERVING company of each
other - would be exactly what the two bantha-heads needed to keep in mind
that sometimes, it was just wiser to stay where it was warm - and listen to
one's wife.

"You will have company, Han. I would never let you alone in such a TERRIBLE
condition." Softly kissing his forehead, Leia smiled at her husband, then
straightened and looked at her picture in the mirror, making sure that her
dress sat correctly and her hair was in order.

"Terrible indeed. I've never felt WORSE in my whole life." Han grumbled,
drawing the blanket up to his chin and letting himself sink deeper into the
plushy sofa that was one of the centrepieces of their living room.

"Of course not."

"I would rather have you as company than Luke."

"Since when don't you like my brother's company?"

"Well, I do like his company, but he is so... so..."

"Yes?"

"Well, rigid. I'm sure you won't even see that he is ill."

Before Leia could reply that she doubted that, according to what Mara had
told her, the door chime sounded and with a final, broad smile to her
husband, she went to open.

The sight that greeted her left her speechless for a few seconds.

"Hello, Leia." The muffled voice sounded, nasal and pitifully weak, out
behind an incredible number of thick shawls that were wrapped around Luke's
head, topped by a black bantha-wool cap. All in all, with his Jedi robe, he
looked like a ridiculous figure out of some fairy-tale.

Not able to stifle a grin, Leia stepped back to let Mara navigate her
husband into the attic, carefully steering him towards the wall against
which he sank with a small sigh.

Her sister-in-law winked at her, then - loudly - said: "I'm going to get the
speeder warmed up. You're coming?"

"In a minute." The Princess answered.

"Mara?"

The ex-Emperor's Hand clutched her belly, obviously shaking with silent
laughter. Leia could understand her too well. The whiny, little voice that
had its origin right next to her, in her dear brother's throat, was all too
laced with immeasurable suffering.

"Bye, Love. I'm going to fetch you this evening."

With all due care, Leia unwrapped her brother and although she was really
determined to go through with the little scheme she and Mara had planned,
she had to admit that the sight of Luke almost succeeded in swaying her and
making her stay with him.

Red-rimmed eyes, glazed with light fever, were a perfect pendant to a
red-rimmed nose and only half-lidded, in order to keep the light out of a
head that throbbed with pain. The pale skin, only tinted red at the cheeks -
hot to the touch - completed a picture of misery that, just for a moment,
made her heart clench.

But it cost her just a small touch in the Force to know that it was not
serious. Not serious enough to warrant cancelling a an afternoon out with a
friend and by far not serious enough to deny her and her sister-in-law the
fun of putting their husbands back into place.

Patting Luke's cheek lightly, she grabbed her cloak and stepped out into the
corridor. "Good bye, brother dear. We're back as soon as we can. Han's in
the living room. Make yourself at home."

"But Leia..."

Luke's cry echoed through the corridor, but only when she was around the
corner where Mara awaited her, the former alderaanian Princess allowed
herself to laugh out loud.

"I think by the time we come back, they'll be as tame as little pittins."
She commented.

The female Jedi Master grinned broadly: "If they survive the afternoon."

Leia buttoned up her cloak, looking at her friend with glittering eyes:
"Don't worry, I've locked away everything that could explode or burn."

*~~

"She didn't even kiss me goodbye." Luke croaked, plopping into the sofa next
to his friend and drawing his knees up to his chest. Scowling angrily at the
door, he repeated: "Not even a single kiss."

"Don't whine. Leia is choosing some birds over ME!" Han mumbled, sitting up
huffing and taking a look at Luke. Shaking his head, he commented: "You look
worse than I do."

The blonde Jedi Master shot him a withering look out of narrowed eyes, then
frowned: "Birds?"

The Corellian nodded, sneezing into his handkerchief before he was able to
answer: "Yes. Some diplomatic thing. They want to join the New Republic.
Usual stuff. Unimportant."

"Mara said she was headed to a Senate meeting. Some presentation. With
Leia."

Azure eyes met hazel eyes and it was at the same moment that it dawned on
them.

"Emperor's black bones. Those little.... They set us up!" The expression of
total wonderment and surprise on Han's face and the total indignation in his
voice would normally have triggered a laughing fit in Luke. Not today,
though.

"I cannot believe Mara is doing that. I'm ill!" Sniffling miserably,
trembling when he suppressed another attack of sneezes, Luke shook his head.
"I never felt that terrible. Why did they do that? They're supposed to LOVE
us!"

"You can never tell what a woman takes as love kid. Probably they want
revenge. After all the fuss they made about this sensor dish thing
yesterday..." Han trailed off.

"Right. It's all your... hic... fault."

"What??!!"

Luke turned so that he could look Han straight in the eye, then snuggled
even deeper into the couch and tried his best to look dignified. Taking into
account his dishevelled appearance, it didn't really have the intended
effect.

"YOU... hic.. insisted on... hic... installing the sensor... hic.. dish. I said we
should wait." He pointed out with all due care.

"I didn't insist..."

"...hic.."

Han closed his mouth, staring aghast at the younger man. "What's the matter
with you?"

Luke grimaced: "I'm... hic.. sorry. Comes from suppressing the... hic... sneezes."

"Drink some water."

Wide blue eyes settled on Han, pleadingly hefting themselves onto his face.
The Corellian frowned, but finally pushed himself to his feet.
"Just stay put, I'm going to get you some."

"Thank... hic... you."

Rolling his eyes, Han made his way to the kitchen. He had the indefinite
feeling that this afternoon would be far from relaxing. And some inner voice
told him that this was exactly what his wife and his sister-in-law had
planned.

*~~

"Haaaan."

Han Solo groaned softly, looking up from the book chip he had fished out of
his daughter's old collection and casting a glance through the living room.
Soon, his eyes came to rest on the tousled, blonde head that was all he
could see of his brother-in-law who occupied the couch.

Although the Corellian sported a cold, too, it had soon become obvious to
him that Luke was more affected than he was. The fever of the younger man
had risen, and if one could believe him, he ached like a Sarlacc was eating
him alive.

Never had Han had to put up with a whiny Jedi Master and he most seriously
thought to not be up to the task.

"What is it?" He asked, getting up despite his protesting bones and rounding
the sofa. Luke's face was glowing and his eyes had adopted a muddy grey
colour, clearly indicating that his body temperature was far too high to
feel comfortable.

"I'm not feeling well."

Han grimaced, sitting down onto the small couch table and regarding his
friend. "You don't tell." he mumbled.

"I'm not joking." Luke complained, coughing a little bit, his nasal voice
sounding absolutely ridiculous. Though the Corellian couldn't feel amused by
that for quite a few hours now. He himself was not feeling very well, but it
was clear that Luke was NOT able to take care of himself right now.

"I tell you, Leia, just wait until you get home..." he mumbled under his
breath.

"What?" the Jedi Master inquired weakly, mustering him from below.

Han sighed: "Nothing, kid." Bending low and touching his friend's forehead,
the older man frowned in slight concern. "You're really hot."

"My head hurts."

"No wonder. Your nose sounds like stuffed to your brain with Wookiee hair."

Luke managed a small smile. "Feels like it, too."

"Then we've got something in common."

Blue eyes gazed up at him, suddenly wide. "I'm sorry, Han. I'm letting you
do all that and you're ill, too. I'm..."

Suddenly paling, Luke stopped, shot upright and, his hand clenching over his
mouth, sprinted straight through the door to Han's and Leia's bedroom and
from there into the fresher.

His corellian friend sighed, letting himself sink into the warmed place Luke
had just vacated, and rubbed his temples. The poor kid really had attracted
quite some thing.

Of course he was annoyed that he had to pamper him while feeling quite like
dying himself, but in face of this misery, he was not really able to be
angry. Besides, somehow, he had the suspicion that Mara and Leia wanted just
that - him and Luke having a fight and annoy each other endlessly.

Oh no, he wouldn't let them have this victory. No way.

"Haaan? Could... could you help me, please?"

Solo wearily got to his feet. He wouldn't let them win. But who had said it
would be easy?

*~~

Death had to feel better. Much better. Luke couldn't remember ever feeling
like this. The attack of the Wampa had been bad. Loosing his hand had been
bad. But this was worse than bad. He couldn't even concentrate enough to use
the Force. The most annoying thing had to be the fact that he couldn't
breath through his nose.
Feeling like a fish on dry earth, he turned and tossed, sometimes falling
into a feverish slumber, but never managing to hold on to relaxation for
long.

He missed Mara. For about the first hour, he had been able to be angry with
her and NOT miss her. But now, he just wanted her to be there.
Perhaps it was childish, but he was ill. When he was ill, he was allowed to
be childish. After all, it wasn't as if he was often ill. It was the first
time. He died and his wife was out amusing herself with his sister.

If the universe were fair, they should both be sitting next to him and
giving him tea and those sweat biscuits that the Solo's food processor could
make so well.

Speaking of...

"Han?" His voice was just a small croak and his throat hurt most annoyingly
whenever he tried to get a sound out between his lips.
The figure in the armchair that stood in one corner of the Solo's bedroom
snapped to attention, focusing hazel eyes on the smaller man on the bed.

"Don't tell me you're going to be sick AGAIN!"

Luke pursed his lips, his stomach roiling at the mere thought of the
previous similar incidents this afternoon. "Not before you said it."

The former space pirate groaned: "Oh, great. How much did you eat today?"

The Jedi Master struggled to sit upright, taking a bowl from his friend with
a grateful nod. It had proven to be much less exhausting for both of them
when Luke didn't have to go to the bathroom when he got sick.
Han soon had found out that his back complained vehemently about dragging
the lean, but compact form of his long-time friend back to the bed.

HIS bed. By all means, HE should be lying in there and Leia should be taking
care of him, Han mused. This - him taking care of Luke and Luke lying in HIS
bed - just felt wrong.

Clutching the bowl to his chest, Luke gave him another one of those
miserable glances that just forced you to be nice to him. Cursing himself
for the soft spot he had for the kid, Han poured some tea into the cup
standing next to the bed on the nightstand and helped his little brother to
take a couple of sips.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

Luke shook his head, obediently emptying the cup and then sinking back onto
the pillows. "No appetite."

"Well, if you had eaten something, you'd not feel nauseous so often."

"I'm not feeling nauseous often, I'm feeling nauseous all the time." The
former farmboy answered whiningly.

"Try to not think at it." Han proposed, taking a couple of sips of tea
himself.

"To not think of it? Genius idea, Solo." The younger man grumbled in between
coughs and sneezes.

"Hey, I'm just trying to help you, okay!"

"Ha! And that from the man who's responsible for this mess in the first
place!" Luke bit back, meanwhile thoroughly angry with himself for going out
to help repair the Falcon at all. He had done smarter things in his life....
Also more stupid ones, but yesterday was not far from this pedestal.

Furious, the taller Corellian jumped to his feet and glowered down at his
counterpart. "I don't need to listen to that. After all, it's me who's
taking care of you all day and I AM ill, you ungrateful, whiny, childish
baby."

The bowl forgotten next to him on the bed, Luke fought himself into an
upright position once again and glared at Han as best he could given the
fact that he felt like his lids were glued together. "Take that back!"

"Why? Not liking the truth?"

"I'm not whiny! And I'm not childish!"

"You are, Luke, believe me. You are. Why do you think Mara has fled the
scene?"

"You no-good, red-nosed, tech-addicted..."

"Who's red-nosed? Better take a look into the mirror before you throw around
with such titles, little one."

"Don't call me little one!!" Luke's voice had risen a few pitches, sounding
definitely a little hysteric. He had grabbed one of the spare pillows,
already lifting it and aiming it at the Corellian. The whole scene had just
worked him up more, making his face blush to a rich, scarlet colour. His
hair, tousled by the tosses and turns on the mattress, stood in all
directions and the mix of a pout and a scowl on his face was just priceless.

Before Han knew what had happened, his anger evaporated and was replaced by
laughter almost as hysteric as Luke's annoyance. Clutching his stomach, the
older space pirate rolled onto his back, giggling and laughing
uncontrollably.

For a few seconds, Luke gaped at him dumbfounded, the pillow unused in his
hands and his eyes wide with surprise. It just sent Han into more extreme
laughter, until the Corellian felt like suffocating right here and there.

"What?" The Jedi Master from Tatooine finally queried, sounding like a
little boy.

"You look so ridiculous...." Han forced out between giggles, doing his best to
get some air back into his lungs.

Luke sniffed, straightening his spine, and blew his hair out of his forehead
with small puffs. "I'm not looking ridiculous. I'm a Jedi Master. And I'm
going to teach you a lesson. I'm NOT childish. And I'm NOT whiny."

"YOU are delirious." Han commented, still chuckling, drying the tears that
had appeared in his eyes. "And childish. Ow..." the Corellian's hands flew at
his temples. This laughing fit hadn't done him any good and from one second
to the other, he felt quite as bad as Luke looked.

"You see? That was the Force." Luke grinned, emphasizing his point with an
energetic hop on the mattress that was ungracefully interrupted by a dive
for the bowl that had rolled off the bed.

Han giggled once again: "Was that the Force, too?" He asked, gleefully
patting Luke's back while the Jedi's body was racked by coughing and
gagging.
When the blonde man straightened once again, his face was deathly pale and
all he could do was crawl back into his previous position and curl up under
the covers.

"All your fault." He mumbled. It didn't sound serious anymore.

Han bent over him, peering into the eyes that were barely opened. He knew
full well that Luke saw him, though. "Peace?" he offered.

The farmboy smiled and nodded. "Peace."

"Fine. Now, you should really try not to think at the..."

Luke groaned: "Don't say that word."

"Well, okay. But you need distraction." Han repeated, enjoying lying lazily
on his bed, relaxing his aching body.

"Distraction? I'm dying and you talk about distraction?"

"Don't exaggerate. So what kind of distraction do you like?"

Luke closed his eyes fully, a dreamy smile lightening up his boyish
features. "You know, Mara always...."

"Ohhhh no, you stop right there, kid. I'm not Mara."

The Jedi's voice laced with sarcasm: "Oh, really? I didn't notice. YOU
asked, by the way."

Han waved the comment off: "Let's not start that again."

For a while, silence filled the room. Then, an idea popped into Han's head.

"You like flying, don't you?"

A small huff was all he got for an answer.

"I take that as yes, and I know it was a stupid question. Interested in
Jacen's old "Shoot the Tie" pocket games?"

One blue eye popped open and gazed at the Corellian. "You still got'em?"

"Sure do. You think I throw such gems away? I'll be right back. Don't run
away."

"I'll do an effort not to." Luke grumbled, rolling onto his stomach and
robbing to the edge of the bed, trying to peer through the door to the room
Han had vanished into. An acidic stink got stuck in his nose and he made a
face at the bowl sitting under the bed.
Closing his eyes in an -in his opinion - super heroic effort to not throw up
again, he levitated the bowl into the bathroom and Force-closed the door.
The action left him drained and his head throbbing and he wished Han'd hurry
up.

Finally, the tall shadow of his friend fell over him and he looked up to see
him carry an old-fashioned holo game into his arms, complete with screen,
cables and joysticks. It was antique in itself and every collector would pay
a nice amount of credits for it.

"Does it still work?" he queried.

Han nodded. "We just need some energy and off we go. Not that a terrible
failure will make you feel better, but it will satisfy me to blow you off
the sky."

Luke snorted, pride giving him the power to sit up and actually stay in this
position: "What are you dreaming of at night?"

"Nothing you would like to hear." The Corellian grinned at him mischievously
and Luke couldn't help but smirk. "I guess I don't want to learn THAT much
about my sister.

"Didn't think you would. Now, we try it with that." Han kneeled down in
front of the wall, next to Leia's small commode, inspecting the power input
that gave energy to the small data terminal that was worked into the
furniture.

Frowning, Luke forced himself to his feet and stumbled over to his friend on
wobbly knees. The impact of his body sagging onto the floor when he kneeled
down next to Han felt like a fall from the Imperial Palace straight to the
surface of Coruscant, but at least his stomach seemed to have calmed down.

"You sure that those cables are capable of handling that amount of power?"

"Hey, kid, it's me! Han Solo! Mechanical genius! Give me some credit here."

Luke just continued frowning, but decided to inspect the joysticks after he
had come to the conclusion that Han would try this no matter what he said.
The Corellian had never been able to accept that he, Luke, the farmboy, the
greenhorn, was in any way more versed in this kind of technology than him.

"Just take care." He mumbled, carefully reading the small mission summaries
that were written onto the back of each little game disc.

He had no idea how much time had passed when Han tapped him onto the
shoulder. Holding two small wires together, the Corellian stared over his
shoulder at Luke and smiled: "Now, just a few seconds and we can play. Then
you'll have your distraction. Your nausea will be forgotten in no time."

"I told you not to say that word."

Han grinned devilishly at him, not even looking when he connected the two
wires - the one that led to the small power cell of the holo-game and the
one that belonged to the data terminal of Leia.

*~~

"Just great, Solo. Terrific, really. 3PO would have done that better." Luke
huffed while he Force-carried the blackened, fuming remains of the holo-game
in the direction of the small garbage chute in the kitchen. For the time
being, his annoyance with his friend outweighed the light-headedness and
tiredness that assaulted him the moment he stood up and had his legs bear
the whole weight of his body.

Han, black smears and stripes covering his face and pyjama as they did
Luke's, just shrugged: "Everyone can make a mistake now and then. I couldn't
know these things were THAT ancient."

"Sure. It's never your fault, isn't it?"

"Of course not. That's the only form of living that's worth to, kid."

Luke snorted, depositing the ruined device in the garbage chute. Turning,
trying to battle down his dizziness, he gestured to the wall: "Let's take
care of this mess before Leia and Mara come back."

Han grimaced: "Yeah, you're right. By the way, we've been a heart and a soul
all day, haven't we?"

The Jedi perched an eyebrow: "What made you think otherwise?"

The Corellian grinned: "Thought so."

*~~

"Well, the apartment still stands. The door isn't blown through the corridor
either. Can we dare thinking they're all right?" Mara wondered, her hand
carefully wavering over the sensory field that would open the door.

Leia smiled: "I'd say we can at least start to. Let's just get into the
vornskr's den and take a look, hu?"

The ex-Emperor's Hand nodded and together, they entered. The living room lay
in front of them - tidy, peaceful and absolutely unscathed, just as they had
left it.

Mara frowned: "I don't know whether to be relieved or suspicious. Do you
think our plan has failed?"

"You mean, they have actually NOT had any dispute and not caused a mediocre
catastrophe?"

The redhead nodded.

Leia grinned. "No way. Luke? Han?"

There was no answer. Exchanging a look, they cautiously made their way over
to the bedroom. Softly and absolutely soundless, Leia opened the door and
peered through.

"By the Force..." she whispered, then giggled and met Mara's inquisitive gaze.
"Take a look at that."

Mara frowned, then changed position with the former Princess and peeked into
the room. She couldn't help but grin.

One portion of the room's right wall, next to Leia's commode, was blackened,
as well as the carpet directly in front of it. And on the bed, covered in
soot and huddled together, sleeping, Luke and Han lay. The Jedi Master's
cheeks were still coloured deeply red and he looked all the way like
feverish, while the Corellian seemed to be almost through the cold, judging
by his appearance.

The soft steps of the women alerted one of the men and Han blinked at them
confused, only belatedly realising how Luke cuddled next to him.

When Leia and Mara began to chuckle softly, he scowled embarrassed, softly
pushing the smaller men away from himself. Luke didn't seem to notice that,
remaining in his deep sleep and mumbling unintelligibly while he turned.

"His fever is pretty high." The Corellian mumbled, groping in his memory for
what had happened. They had cleaned the room - or tried to. Halfway through,
they had both been overcome by exhaustion and collapsed onto the bed, almost
immediately falling asleep. The kid must have cuddled up to him on the
search for a source of warmth. If you had fever, you were mostly feeling
like freezing.

Relieved that everything had a perfectly natural reason, Han got out of bed
and carefully, tentatively, stretched his muscles and joints. He felt
better, much better, than this very morning.
Pitifully, he looked back at Luke: "I don't think he's going to get through
that in a day."

Mara - her green eyes glinting - went over to her husband and caressed
through his sweat-dampened hair: "Probably not. Thanks for taking care of
him."

"It was just self-defence." Han commented, accepting Leia's embrace. "His
whining is unbearable."

The Princess laughed, directing her husband out of the room: "I wonder where
he's got that from."

"What do you mean by that?" The former space pirate's voice could be heard
from the living room until the door shut closed.

"Luke?" Mara queried softly, cupping his cheek.

It took a couple of seconds, but he finally blinked, staring at her for a
moment, then pouting: "Had a nice day? Lot of fun?"

His wife chuckled: "Are you angry with me?"

"Oh, no. I was dying and suffering and my wife was out shopping, dancing or
whatever. I feel that is how things should be."

"It served you well for being so stupid yesterday."

"Female logic." He grunted, exploding into a coughing fit immediately after.

"Well, after things have been settled, what would you say if your wife
brought you home, made you a nice bath against colds and then gave you a
long massage?"

A small, lazy smile appeared at the corner of Luke's mouth and soon evolved
into a broad grin: "I think it would be the last way to save my life."

Mara laughed: "Thought so. Come on, my love."

She helped him up and, arm in arm, they joined Han and Leia into the living
room for a brief goodbye.

"By the way, " the Chief-of-State wondered, "what, by the Force, did you DO
in there?" She gestured toward the bedroom.

"It was his fault!" Both men stated simultaneously, pointing at each other.

Luke's eyes narrowed: "It was your idea."

"You wanted distraction."

"You insisted on trying the energy output."

"You could have prevented me from doing it."

"You never listen to me."

"That's because you're always wrong."

"I was right this time!"

"You never said a word!"

"I never... you conceited smuggler!"

"Wimpy Jedi Knight."

~~FINIS~~